No Card Games in Wonderland
by tastes-like-ciel
Summary: After being tossed into a bizarre, fairytale world, a crazed hatter and his companion proclaim Yugi as their new "Alice" and whisk him away: only to turn finding him into a game. Armed with a directionally challenged magic sword and a vanishing cat, Yami has to locate his lost little aibou before the Hatter's hourglass runs out or...well, it couldn't possibly be good, now could it?
1. 01-Magic in the Attic

Title: No Card Games in Wonderland

Genre: Humor/Adventure/Friendship/Horror

Rating: T+

Warnings: AU-ish. Just a stupid idea loosely based on the whole Alice in Wonderland concept (of which I am not cool enough to own). No pairings. Not really. Maybe not. Probably not. ...I'll think about it. Mostly focuses on Yami and Yugi, but I'll make something resembling an effort to shift the focus onto other characters just a little (or I'll attempt to attempt). **Oh and I'm not forcing Yugi to cross-dress or anything. **Yami isn't, either. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not taking that route. I designed Yugi an outfit better fit for a boy. Because tailcoats, mann. Tailcoats are sexy.

Summary: After being tossed into a bizarre, grimdark fairytale world, a crazed hatter and his companion proclaim Yugi as their new "Alice" and whisk him away: only to turn finding him into a game. Armed with a directionally challenged magic sword and a vanishing cat, Yami has to locate his lost little aibou before the Hatter's hourglass runs out or...well, it couldn't possibly be good, now could it?

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I do own a cat. His name is Fuzzy Foo.

Serena: Sery, Sery, (quite so scary) comes bearing a story. So don't be so wary! Chapter one is done, so let's begin the fun! And—fuck this. I'm out of rhymes. *cue booing* LAZINESS SHALL PREVAIL! ALSO, I CHANGED my penname to tastes-like-ciel because reasons. I use it on dA and Tumblr and it has just become a thing for me. Plus, I was sick of my old name. So. *shrug* But uh, yeah. I don't know how long this story will be. It could be anywhere from ten to twenty and beyond. It just depends on how things end up progressing. I intended to wait until I had at least five chapters finished before sharing this, but I wanted to know if anyone would be interested in reading this story or not (although I realize this first one is probably kinda dull). So, I decided to just go ahead and share it. Also, the summary is literally going to be the only time I actually use the word "aibou" (except for now). Not that I have a problem with writers using it (I don't. Really. I like imagining English dub Yami saying it. Quite often.). I just felt compelled to use "partner" because I do what I want. *shot*

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 1: Magic in the Attic

-x-x-x-x-

Yugi never understood why (no matter which direction he tried to run in) he was always routed back to this decrepit little valley with the castle sitting in its center. Logically, it made no sense to end up in the exact same spot each and every time. Why, just moments ago, he could have sworn he had been walking in a straight line and yet here he was at the starting point all over again! It was almost as if the castle and valley had an army of twins spread out on all sides, but that was just silly. What purpose would that serve (other than annoying potential lost travelers)?

Yugi frowned as he cast a wary gaze at the castle ahead.

_'I just want to go home.'_ he thought with an awful feeling of home sickness creeping up on him. _'I'm sick of this place.'_

The sight of the castle and valley left him with a feeling of uneasiness. It just wasn't a very lively or inviting looking place and under normal circumstances, he would never be here. Unfortunately, not only was he, in fact, _here_, he had _no idea_ why, when, or _how_ he came to be in such an unsettlingly dark venue. He just was, as crazy as that probably sounded.

The valley itself was a barren wasteland of cracked surfaces and cold, dry soil. No greenery of any kind was thriving in the stale earth and any plant life he did see sat helplessly plastered to the ground in ugly, shriveled heaps. The sky overhead was a rusty, reddish orange and there was an odd scent in the air that he couldn't quite place. As for the castle sitting in the valley's center, it was an imposingly tall thing. With its gothic-style architecture and dark color scheme, it looked like something you would only find in a grimdark fairytale (or one of those old, crappy B-rated vampire movies). It appeared to be partially built into the hill it was sitting upon and didn't look all that friendly (but nothing else did either).

Yugi hummed to himself and continued to stare up at the structure in thought. No matter how unsettling and dark everything looked, that didn't mean there was anything for him to be afraid of. Looks can be deceiving, don't judge a book by its cover (or, in this case, a castle by its pointy towers), give the benefit of the doubt, and all that.

_'I still don't want to go up there_,' he mused regardless. _'but...I guess I don't have much of a choice.'_

Reluctantly, Yugi started walking in the castle's general direction. As ominous a picture it made, he couldn't help but be drawn to that looming edifice (probably because it was the only building that might house people). He found himself hoping that the castle, despite its uninviting looks, housed someone of no ill nature who could help him. Wandering around as he had been doing wasn't helping him so far. If he wanted out, he was going to need a little help from someone who knew enough about the area to, at the very least, point him in the right direction.

To reach this structure, Yugi had to (oddly enough) go down in order to go up. The path dipped into a steep, downward slope that would supposedly (eventually) turn into an uphill path that led to the castle's doors. This was merely speculation as he couldn't really see most of the path due to a dense fog that hung over the area, but he was hopeful this would be the case.

On the other hand, this might not even be the right path...

Yugi abruptly came to a halt in his trek down below as a ghastly smell suddenly overpowered his senses. It was a terrible mixture of dirt and decay (similar to the scent of death that clung to graveyards), but the iron scent it carried was what made it so vile. It smelled like a collection of rotten meat.

_'I hope I don't hurl. What **is** that?'_

Yugi wrapped his fingers around the ends of his sleeve and covered his nose. He didn't know where the smell was coming from, but he really didn't want to found out. He also really wanted to turn around and leave, but...well, where would he go? The forest only led him around in circles and he didn't have a phone on him (his pajamas didn't have pockets). The castle was his best bet at this point. So, with his sleeve tightly held over his mouth, he continued on.

The slope was dangerously steep and littered with small dips and raised bumps created from natural wear. If he moved too quickly or tripped, it would be easy enough for him to break his neck, puncture a lung, or seriously injure some other part of his body. Yugi was careful not to walk too fast, least he end up discovering firsthand exactly what kind of injures the slope would make.

_'What a dangerous place.'_ Yugi mused to himself whilst glancing around. _'Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all...'_

Small rocks scattered across the worn path tumbled down the hill as Yugi's steps disturbed them from their rest. The noise they made as they skipped down the path was deafening in the dead silence. Occasionally, he thought he heard a watery plop as the rocks reached the end of their journey, but it was so faint that he couldn't be sure and the bottom of the path was so foggy that he couldn't really tell if there was a body of water below or not.

Then, as he finally neared the bottom, he came to a stop.

Around the castle was a red swamp.

It was more a moat than anything else, but its overall appearance didn't allude to that. The sludgy water oozing through the man-made trench was an unnatural red. There were lumps of something resembling thick wads of seaweed floating in the water and all that combined with the fog made the moat seem more like a natural swamp than a giant ditch.

And there was no bridge, Yugi realized. He couldn't go this way. It _was_ the wrong path.

"Great..." Yugi mumbled, the sound muffled by his sleeve.

He could always walk around until he did find a bridge or something, but this was becoming more trouble than it was worth. The valley was _creepy_, the castle not only looked empty but was surrounded by goopy red liquid that looked like something decidedly _not_ water, the air smelled _awful_, and he was getting _tired_.

He shivered as a breeze blew past and after another moment of pondering, he finally just shook his head and turned away from the moat to start the trek back up the hill.

The water sloshed around behind him.

"?"

Yugi turned at the sound. He half expected to see something swimming in the moat, but there was nothing in the water except for a few ripples. The seaweed-like substances drifting in the moat bobbed gently in the ripples' motion.

A little bothered, but unwilling to investigate, Yugi turned away from the moat once more and continued to steadily climb the steep incline.

_'I'm imaging things.'_ he mused. _'Something probably fell in. Maybe a rock or _-'

When the water sloshed again, he hesitated in his steps for a moment and contemplated glancing back again. What were the odds of something else falling into the water in such a short time span?

Another watery slosh made him jump and he stumbled forward a few steps out of fright. His heart started beating wildly within chest and the hand he continued to hold under his nose pushed at his mouth a little more.

_'Maybe there's fish down there?_' he thought in an attempt to rationalize the sounds and calm his nerves. He doubted a fish of could live in such unnatural water, but for all he knew, there could be some kind living in it. _'Yeah. Just...a fish. Nothing to be scared of.'_

Even still, he found himself wishing his friends were here. It wouldn't be quite as scary with company.

Yugi wrapped his free arm around his middle as the water sloshed again. This time, however, the accompanying noise of water droplets dripping onto the water's surface sounded, as if something had risen from the moat.

Something grunted behind him and the sound of dirt being clawed at reached Yugi's ears. He couldn't imagine what the source of the noise could be, but his nerves were steadily taking a downward spiral. The grunts and clawing were persisting and the sound of sloshing water became more and more frequent in a desperate sort of way. It was almost like something had fallen in and was now frantically trying to drag itself out.

When the suspense became too much for Yugi to handle, he whirled around to see the source of the noises.

His breathe hitched.

There, filthy fingers dug into the earth, head shaking to and fro and limbs violently moving about was a poorly clothed lich.

Yugi took a step back.

The creature's skin was an ugly, discolored, and shriveled mess. The flesh clung so closely to its body that Yugi could see the curves and bulges of its bones. Its hair (if you could even call it that) was in no better condition. The few dark strands it had left were stiff and clumped together in tangled wads. They looked so brittle that Yugi surmised a single touch would cause the strands to disintegrate instantly.

Yugi's eyes widened as the sad creature finished hauling itself from out the red swamp. Its back heaved up and down (as if the thing were taking breathes) as it inched along the ground on hands and knees. It lolled its head from side to side as if searching for something. It had yet to look up at him, but the teen prayed it wouldn't. By the looks of things, it hadn't noticed Yugi at all.

Yugi kept his hand clamped against his mouth and tried to calm his frantically beating heart. The noise was so loud that he feared the crawling creature would hear it and then -

The lich's movements suddenly ceased. It was as if someone had stopped time or pushed the pause button on a television controller. It just...froze.

_'If I'm quiet enough, maybe I can sneak away.'_ he thought, hoping for the best. What else could he do? He certainly wasn't about to approach the rotting creature!

Yugi tried to take another step backward in an effort to quietly sneak away, but his foot slipped on a loose rock lying in the dirt and he slid to the ground in a noisy heap. He unintentionally added on to the noise by grunting and then hissing as his back hit the ground. Judging by the sharp stabbing at his back, he was pretty certain he landed on a rock. Jeez, that hurt!

The noise, unfortunately, roused the attention of the frozen creature. Its head suddenly snapped out of its awkward, sideways tilt with a sickening crack and turned Yugi's way. Its hollowed eye sockets stared unseeingly at the ground before Yugi's feet and its neck popped again as it jerked its head to tilt in the opposite direction. Jerkily, one of its arms began to move as it forced a single, shriveled hand through the dirt and towards Yugi.

Yugi pulled himself up the hill out of reflex, a subconscious attempt to maintain his distance. That naturally created more noise and he winced as more small stones were knocked loose from the dirt, only to roll down past the crawling carrion.

The undead creature paused in its movements for a moment to assess the noise, but it seemed to deign it unimportant and carried on with its dragging. Its gait seemed much more focused on the amethyst-eyed teenager than it had previously, however. It even seemed to be picking up speed.

_'I'll just stand up as quietly as I can and then make a run for it.'_ he decided. He had no other ideas and continuing to lie there in hopes the thing changed its mind would be stupid considering how easily Yugi would be to snatch. _'I'd rather take my chances in that forest than stick around here.'_

After making a quick, silent prayer for his survival, Yugi, as quietly as he could manage, pushed himself to his feet. The creature didn't seem to take notice of any noise Yugi made and that was a good thing, but he couldn't allow himself to celebrate just yet. If he was careless, the lich would notice him and then he would be, for lack of a better word, _fucked_.

_'I can do this. I can do this!'_

Slowly and carefully, Yugi took a backwards step up the hill and after assuring himself that he wouldn't slip, he took another step back. He continued to do this until he was halfway up the hill and had placed a sizable distance between himself and the unholy abomination. He stared down at the hill's bottom and was just barely able to make out the silhouette of the carrion struggling to climb the steep incline.

_'I think I'm safe. It can't crawl up the hill that easily_.' Yugi mused. He allowed himself a sigh of relief, satisfied that he wasn't in any immediate danger anymore. _'At least the forest was empty...'_

Yugi carefully turned away from the struggling creature and began to make his way up the hill with considerably less anxiety than he had had previously. He made a little more noise than he had before, but the lich was all the way at the bottom and couldn't get up the hill. Noise wouldn't matter now.

Before he could make much progress, a sudden noise made him halt in his trek up the hill. It was a strangled gurgling sound, like someone's throat was filling up with water and they were drowning. Yugi's initially calmed down heart began to speed up as fright trickled down his spine. He felt a presence of some kind standing behind him and it both confused and terrified him. Maybe he was just imagining it?

A hand wrapped around his arm.

Yugi whirled around to face whatever was behind him.

The dragging corpse from before towered over him, suddenly able to not only stand perfectly but move at lightning fast speed to catch up to the teen.

Yugi's mouth shakily dropped as a scream tried to work its way out, but before it could, he was suddenly falling back down the hill and to the awaiting red swamp.

-x-x-

"You had that dream again, didn't you?"

Yugi Mutou bit the end of his pencil and continued to stare down at his unfinished math homework. His spirit friend was as keen as ever, but Yugi wasn't exactly doing an excellent job at hiding his troubled expressions and ever wandering thoughts. He spaced out so much nowadays that the spirit of his Millennium Puzzle, Yami, jokingly teased him of having another ghostly friend he chatted to on the side.

"Mm." Yugi hummed in answer.

Yugi continued to chew on the end of his pencil and gave a short shrug. He was distracted, his attention caught between his homework assignment and the urge to avoid any topics concerning his less than welcome dreams. He tried to come off as indifferent and unconcerned with his friend's question, but all his fears were spilling out in the form of his insistent pencil chewing (which wasn't something he normally did).

He shifted in his seat, the wooden chair scrapping the floor somewhat as Yugi tried to huddle closer to his textbook. Math wasn't his favorite subject, but the distraction it provided was reason enough to push himself into doing it. Now, if a and b are positive integers and (a^(1/2) * b^(1/3))^6 = 432, then what is the value of -

Yugi jumped as a transparent hand suddenly planted itself across the page he was trying to read. He blinked down at the unexpected interruption and then glanced up to meet his friend's gaze. He made a little noise in protest. The spirit's hand wasn't really stopping the teen from reading his textbook, but...well, it was just a little rude of him to do.

"I understand this useless equation is important to your studies, but your mental health is important, too." Yami explained. Despite the slight narrowing of his eyes and the crease brought about by his knit eyebrows, the spirit didn't seem angry. However, the concern prevalent in his voice was hard to miss. "More so, I might add. _This_ can wait. Please talk to me. You keep avoiding the subject whenever it's brought up."

Yugi relaxed his teeth's grip on his poor pencil in favor of giving his spirit friend (who continued to remain partially leaned over both the table and Yugi's lap) his full attention. He opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated as whatever words he had been about to say caught in his throat. His gaze dropped back down to his desk and he stared at his textbook unseeingly for a moment. The teenager's mind was silent for a brief second before his thoughts started whirling and random flashes of dream memories played across his inner theatre (_-the lich dragging itself out of that murky red swamp-) (- the sight of decaying flesh breaking against his sleeve-) _before suddenly shifting back to more pressing matters. After all, the equation wasn't going to solve itself and he needed to simplify it first. Multiply the exponents, right? Or maybe -

"Yugi." the spirit called out in a weary sigh, snatching the boy's wandering attention back his way. "Partner, I saw that."

Yugi suddenly felt guilty. Yami was only trying to help and here he was being difficult.

"I'm sorry, other me! I don't mean to be so difficult!" Yugi blurted out in apology. He slumped into his desk chair and let his hands fall to his lap. Idly, he fiddled with his chewed pencil and stared at it a moment before redirecting his gaze back up to Yami. "I just don't want to worry anyone over a stupid nightmare. I know it bothers you that I keep avoiding it, but the whole thing just seems really childish. I'm sorry."

The spirit let out a soft sigh. He moved out of his slump to stand up straight and shook his head a little.

"It's alright. I understand your feelings, but how many times have your dreams meant something? Especially the reoccurring ones?" Yami prompted before gesturing a hand towards the teen's bed. All their best conversations seemed to happen on the bed, after all. Plus, there wasn't anything to distract Yugi there, unlike at his desk. "We're going to talk about this whether you like it or not. You might as well humor me."

Yugi's eyes flickered over to stare at his bed for a moment before returning to stare at his other self. Yami made another motion towards Yugi's bed, an expectant look on his face.

"Go on." he said patiently, awaiting his young charge's compliance. "You might feel more at ease discussing it with someone. You don't have to explain the dream in detail. Just answer a few questions. That's all."

A frown continued to tug at the teen's lips, but he sighed in a resigned manner before finally standing from his chair. He set his pencil inside the crease of his textbook before turning to walk over to his bed and plopping down onto the bed's edge. He shifted uncomfortably, fingers picking at his sheets.

"What do you want to know?"

The spirit's expression grew further concerned.

"A simple overview is fine, but the fact that this is bothering you to the point where you have no desire to discuss the issue is what bothers me." the spirit began. He walked over to sit by Yugi's side and placed a transparent hand over the teen's leg. "You've been avoiding the others' concerns and waking up at erratic hours of the night scared to death. Even if this nightmare is not a warning of some kind, it's still causing you grief and I want to make it stop."

Yugi stopped fiddling with his bed sheets and turned his attention to the hand atop his leg, near his knee. He couldn't feel any pressure from it and the slight drop in temperature was hardly noticeable. Sometimes Yugi thought, if he concentrated just a bit harder, he could feel something other than a temperature change whenever his other half touched him. It was something of a prickling sensation (like what you felt when you tried to move a limb that had fallen alseep), but it was usually fleeting. So much so that Yugi was never completely certain if he had ever felt it at all. It could be his imagination, for all he knew.

He breathed out a short sigh. He wished he could settle his own hand over the spirit's, but he knew he would only end up disappointed if he tried. His hand would phase through and that was something he tried not to do. It felt incredibly weird and neither he nor the spirit liked the feeling. The few times it had happened left them both in an incredibly awkward and embarrassing silence. He shivered slightly at the thought of it.

"It doesn't make any sense." Yugi began, feeling a bit frustrated all of a sudden. He had already tried throwing various theories around in hopes of explaining the dream to himself, but nothing seemed right. The only castle he knew of belonged to Pegasus, but he was fairly tame without the Millennium Eye lodged into his skull anymore. Besides, what new agenda would the man have that required bothering him and the spirit? Hadn't he given up dealing with possessed magical items of the Egyptian variety a while back or...? "There's just a...there's this castle."

The spirit blinked, curiosity swimming in his gaze.

"A castle?"

Yugi nodded and hesitated for a moment before conjuring a dream memory of the castle in question. He didn't linger on it for long, just long enough for Yami to get a decent enough look at it. When his mind tried to wander to the depths of the red moat and what lived inside it, he pushed the image away. He didn't want his mind dragging them both back to such a place.

Yami hummed in distaste, not liking what Yugi had allowed him to see

"Definitely not any place we've ever seen before..." the spirit mumbled, crossing his arms. He remained silent in thought for a moment before making another displeased hum.

Yugi continued on.

"I start off lost in this forest and whenever I try to leave it, I run into that castle. Even if I try going in the opposite direction and walk in a straight line, I find it again. Eventually I just give up and try walking to it, but it's surrounded by this thick, red water. Every time I get near it, this..._thing_ tries to pull me in."

Yugi pulled one leg up to his chest and wrapped his arms around it before resting his chin against his knee.

"...you saw it." the teen continued and then he sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to Yami. "I really hope it stops soon. I swear it becomes more lucid the more I dream it."

The spirit's concerned expression turned into a determined sort of frustration after settling his gaze onto the floor. Yugi could feel a flare of anger trickle over from Yami's side of their link and stifled the smile threatening to cross his lips upon feeling it.

_He's been doing that a lot lately_, Yugi couldn't help but muse. He knew why, but he continually chose to say nothing about it as the subject of the spirit's sudden mood swings breached a topic the both of them couldn't quite bring themselves to discuss easily.

Their time together was growing short and would soon end altogether.

Yami's memories of his past as Pharaoh were finally within their grasp, but getting them had a side effect, a sacrificial price that couldn't be avoided. In the end, Yami was just a spirit and an old one at that. He should have moved on a long, long time ago, but due to circumstances both in and out of his control, he hadn't. His soul had been sealed away inside the Millennium Puzzle for over 3,000 years and he lost his memories because of it. Without them, he was just a lost spirit and he couldn't move on if he didn't know where to go. So, once his memories were returned to him...

The smile Yugi had tried to hold back fled in a heartbeat. This was why they didn't talk about it. It upset both of them. While Yugi was prone to tears if he thought about it too hard, Yami fell into a frustrated silence and simply got angry the longer his self-imposed silence stretched on.

And now, the thought of Yugi having a problem that could last even after he was no longer around made his mood plummet sharply. No matter how childish or mundane Yugi's problem might have been, Yami persistently wanted to fix it (even if he really couldn't).

"...are you alone throughout the dream?" the spirit finally asked, putting an end to the silence.

"Yeah." Yugi answered with a slight nod. He blinked and let his gaze drift off to the side in thought. "Unless dead plants count as company. In that case, I was surrounded by travel partners."

The spirit's frown twitched at the corners.

"...no. I'm sorry to say that doesn't count." he answered, a hint of amusement coating his tone. "I can't imagine they would be very talkative anyway. What with being dead and all."

"That doesn't seem to stop you too much." Yugi added. A glance at Yami made him giggle. "You never know. They might talk, if they really wanted to."

Yami deigned to roll his eyes and he shook his head.

"Plants cannot speak, Partner." he replied needlessly. He leaned back on his hands (one leg crossing over the other) and allowed a small smile to cross his lips. He raised an eyebrow at Yugi. "Any other travel partners I should know about or is my jealousy unfounded?"

Yugi giggled again before giving an answer.

"No. There was no one. Just me and a whole lot of nothing else." he said. He gave a short sigh and hummed. "Maybe it's...nothing? It could just be a regular nightmare or...something."

Yugi shrugged to himself, thoroughly out of ideas. The dream honestly could mean nothing, but why was he having it every night? Having it repeat again and again wasn't normal, was it?

The spirit gave a hum of his own.

"Perhaps, but your affinity for having prophetic visions is a bit...unnerving." he admitted, smile falling to something more neutral. "That you would have something like this now, of all times, doesn't sit well with me."

Neither of them really knew in what way Yami's memories would return to him. It seemed like there was always _something_ standing between them and the spirit's memories and it was usually something dangerous, something life threatening. They knew where they had to go and that the god cards were involved, but hell, that was about it. Knowing their luck, there would be a villain of some kind waiting on them just _itching_ to ruin their day.

And that's what had Yami worried, Yugi knew.

Just a few weeks before they were scheduled to leave, Yugi suddenly starts having a repetitive dream about being attacked by a zombie. It was probably about as ridiculous as it sounded, but considering all the creatures they knew lurked out there and all the crazy people the two of them had run into, it was sadly not as farfetched as one might think. Plus, considering they would be visiting a tomb in Egypt...

A sudden knock at the door disturbed Yugi from his thoughts. He raised his head from his knee and turned his attention to the door as it opened a crack. Yami followed suit just as Yugi's grandfather popped his head in and sent the teen a cheerful smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but paused as he took in Yugi's position and chuckled.

"I apologize for interrupting," he began, correctly deducting that Yugi was in the middle of a discussion with Yami. Yugi wasn't surprised by this, but he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. That gleam in his grandfather's eyes and sudden amused tilt to his smile made the statement seem dirty.

Yami chuckled at that thought and Yugi sent him an annoyed, pouty look. Between his grandfather and Yami, Yugi received enough teasing to last him three lifetimes.

"But," his grandfather continued through another laugh. "you have visitors. Three, to be exact."

Yugi's attention returned to his grandfather at the mention of visitors. He already had an idea of who these three were and he felt his guilt from earlier slowly returning. They were worried about him and after days of avoiding their concerned questions and comments, of course they would eventually act as one and corner him at home.

Yugi sighed and lowered his leg to the floor.

"I'll be down in a minute." he answered. At a look from Yami, he added: "With an explanation. If you don't mind, tell them I'm okay."

His grandfather's smile fell just a bit. He let his eyes wander to the spot on Yugi's bed where he assumed the spirit was and after a moment, he nodded his head.

"I see." he replied and said nothing more on the subject. Briefly, Yugi wondered if his friends already talked to his grandfather about their concerns. "Take your time. I'll go make some tea while you and your friends talk."

Yugi smiled.

"Thanks, grandpa."

Sugoroku merely returned Yugi's smile with another nod and left to deliver Yugi's message as well as prepare a fresh batch of tea for everyone.

"I suppose we shall continue this conversation later." Yami mused out loud as he listened to Sugoroku's footsteps fading away. Yugi groaned at him. "Mm, you're not out of this yet, Partner. There are still a few things I wish to ask. Dreams are so difficult to decipher. I need all the information I can get."

"Oh, fine," Yugi relented as he grabbed his blue jacket and slipped into it. His voice took on a stern tone. "but if you can't figure anything out by tomorrow, you aren't allowed to obsess over it anymore. Got it?"

Yami scoffed lightly and sent Yugi his own version of a pout.

"You ruin my fun."

-x-x-

"...again, I'm really, _really_ sorry I worried you guys." Yugi finished, setting his half-empty cup of tea down onto the coffee table. He bowed his head slightly. "I talked to the Pharaoh about it and he's helped me try to understand it."

The spirit coughed from his place behind Yugi and gave his partner's mind a little nudge. Yugi lifted his head to smile sheepishly.

"Uhm, _still_ helping me understand it." he corrected, to which Yami gave a satisfied hum.

Seated to Yugi's left, one of his friends, Katsuya Jounouchi, took a moment to himself and sipped at his tea, possibly mulling over everything Yugi had just finished telling them. He quickly finished the cup off and with a loud sigh, wrapped an arm around Yugi's shoulders.

"It's alright, Yug. I guess I can understand why ya hid it from us. I mean, talk about a freaky dream..." he said with a shudder before giving his friend a grin. "We were pretty worried about ya, but if you say you'll be alright, then I believe you. From what I've seen, the Pharaoh's pretty smart. If he can't figure your dream out, no one can."

Yugi felt a wave of amusement and gratitude wash over him and couldn't repress his smile at both it and Jounouchi's words. Yugi heard the spirit's voice filter through his head.

/ / _Ah, pressure. Now I simply must decode your dream or my reputation as the smart one will be ruined. If that happens, I'll need a new identity. Jounouchi's underdog reputation would be fine. I wouldn't mind being a puppy for a little while. I could bite Kaiba. _/ /

Yugi giggled and at Jounouchi's questioning look, he decided to paraphrase the spirit's thoughts. After all, his blonde friend wouldn't appreciate the dog references all that much (although he probably wouldn't mind the part about Kaiba).

"Ahhh...the Pharaoh says thank you for having such faith in him." he said and shook his head at the continued amusement he felt filter though their shared link. "He says he'll do his best."

Jounouchi looked skeptical and gave Yugi a scrutinizing look as he muttered an "unh-hunh". He decided to set his empty tea cup down onto the coffee table, but never stopped staring at Yugi.

"...he said something else, didn't he." he said at last and though it was worded like a question, it wasn't spoken as one.

Yugi faltered and opened his mouth to attempt a response of some kind when the second of his friends to speak, Anzu Mazaki, graciously saved him by interrupting.

"It doesn't matter, Yugi." she began, setting a hand against his shoulder. She always knew just when to intervene. "What's important is that everything is working out and you'll be okay. For a while there, I wasn't sure, but...now I am. Just promise that you'll keep us updated about it. Okay?"

There was an undertone of sternness in the brunette's voice accompanying her otherwise kind, relieved tone. Her lips were curved into a tiny smile and that telltale spark of worry gleaming in her eyes was beginning to slowly fade. Yugi found himself feeling relieved that he could ease her fears simply by discussing the situation with her. It made his smile widen.

"I promise." the teen replied and was answered with a relieved sigh from Honda and a beaming Anzu. "Just talking about it has helped a lot already."

The third of Yugi's friends, Hiroto Honda, nodded his head from across the coffee table in understanding and set his nearly empty cup down.

"That's good to hear, man, and hey! If talking about it helps, don't hesitate to talk to one or all of us about it if something like this happens again." he said. His eyes drifted to the puzzle hanging from Yugi's neck and he grinned. "_If_ you need someone else. You and the Pharaoh seem pretty close."

Yugi redirected his smiling gaze down to the puzzle and held a hand against it. It was certainly no secret that Yami thought highly of him and vice versa. Especially not since the whole fiasco with that Orichalcos cult.

Almost immediately, Yugi felt a sudden distant edge to Yami's thoughts and feelings and a creeping bit of sadness began to trickle over. While it wasn't much, it was still there.

Yugi's smile turned sympathetic.

/ _I'm sorry, other me. I didn't mean to bring that up again. /_ Yugi said in apology. He sent a wave a reassurance his friend's way. / _But it's okay, you know. You don't have to feel bad about that anymore. It's okay. Really. /_

It took a moment, but eventually the negative feelings subsided and Yami sent an apology back.

/ / _I know, partner. Thank you. It's just a...touchy subject, I suppose you could say. Don't mind me and __my mood swings. I'll be alright. I promise. _/ /

Yugi's smile widened again in happiness and let the hand holding the puzzle drop to his lap. He returned his attention to his friends, but blinked at their amused looks.

"What?"

To his right, Anzu giggled and set her cup down.

"Nothing~" she answered. She probably originally intended to keep quiet, but whatever restraint she held quickly left and she added: "It's just cute how you space out when talking to the Pharaoh sometimes. It's like you're both in your own private world."

Yugi blushed as the others laughed. He did make a habit out of spacing out, didn't he? At least he didn't talk out loud around other people anymore (mostly).

"Where _is_ that book?!"

All four (well, five) heads turned to the doorway as Sugoroku entered, one hand on his hip and the other set against his temple. He seemed very concentrated though frustrated. He was looking for a book? What book?

"Hey, gramps, you lost something?" Jounouchi asked, startling the elder man. "Ah, sorry. You look kinda upset, is all."

Sugoroku sighed and the hand held at his forehead dropped to his side.

"I was searching for an old storybook Yugi's mother picked up a long time ago." he explained. At the confused stares he received, he waved a hand in the air dismissively. "She mentioned it to one of her friends and that friend was interested in buying it for her little girl, but I can't seem to find it. I could have sworn I set it on the shelf with all the other books..."

Yugi hummed in thought for a moment, trying to remember where his father had originally put all his old toys and things. It had been such a long time since then, but...oh, right! The attic!

"Did you check out the attic, grandpa?" Yugi asked, trying to picture the upstairs area in question. There was a good chance the book had been stashed away in a box or something. "I remember Dad packed away a lot of my old stuff."

Instead of looking pleased by the information, Yugi's grandfather seemed to deflate. Yugi blinked and frowned. That hadn't been the reaction he had been hoping for at all.

"The attic?" his grandfather repeated before groaning. "Oh, I'll never find it at this rate. I still have things to do in the shop and the attic is so unorganized. I'm getting too old to go hunting for antiques."

"I could look for it." Yugi suggested and his grandfather's eyes lit up a bit. "I don't mind."

"I can help, too, Mr. Mutou." Anzu added, raising a hand to volunteer herself. "With two of us looking, we can cover more ground."

"Make it three!" Jounouchi said, quickly jumping into the conversation and adding himself to the hunting crew. "We'll find that book in no time!"

Honda raised his own hand.

"I'm in, too!" he contributed, flashing a grin. "Just as long as I know what we're looking for, it's no problem."

Sugoroku chuckled at the four of them and shook his head.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you all to do that," he began. Jounouchi opened his mouth as if he were about to protest, but Sugoroku raised a hand to silence him. "_but_, if you insist, then I accept."

-x-x-

"So, what are we looking for again?" Jounouchi asked as he examined the contents of a nearby storage box. It contained something in various shades of blue and...was that lace? "Uhh...some kind of journal?"

"A storybook." Yugi corrected. He took a few steps over to one side of the attic and glanced at all the stacks of dusty boxes packed against the walls. He gave a little groan. This might take a little longer than he initially thought. "Alice in Wonderland, he said it was called."

"I remember a little of that story." Anzu commented. She moved further into the attic and approached a small stack of dusty, cardboard boxes. Using her index finger, she slipped her nail under one of the top box's flaps and wiggled her finger in to pry it open. Inside, there was only dusty china plates with small, delicate patterns. "This girl follows a talking rabbit down a rabbit hole and falls into a really bizarre world. There's talking caterpillars and everything."

Yugi frowned at all the different hiding places the book could be hidden in. The attic was stuffed with cardboard boxes, faded traveling suitcases, chairs, and all sorts of other things. It could be anywhere and with only a lone, dangling light bulb for light and gradually fading light from the only window in the room, it made actually finding it seem impossible. No wonder his grandfather had complained.

He moved over to smooth his palm against a nearby box's dusty surface and wrapped his fingers around one of the flaps to pull it open. He peered inside as he pushed another long flap away. Unfortunately, there were no books. Just old stuffed animals with button eyes and a rather grumpy looking, wind-up turtle toy.

"I don't think I've ever heard that story." Honda admitted. He, too, moved over to a corner of the room and began riffling through boxes and other packages. "I was more into pretend adventure games back then, though. If there wasn't pirates or ninjas, I wasn't interested."

"I think I might have heard it once, but I'm not really sure." Jounouchi chimed in. He chose the very far corner of the attic that was nearest the window to begin his search. "I don't remember anything about a talking rabbit."

Yugi closed the box and transferred it to the floor so he could check the box underneath it. This one had dirty tape keeping it shut. Luckily, this box had handles cut into its sides. So, instead of attempting to rip the tape off, he bent down so he could be eye-level with the hole and looked through it.

_'More toys.' _he mused, a bit disappointed.

He heard the spirit chuckle and Yugi straightened his posture before turning to his friend. Yami was leaning against a precariously stacked group of boxes with his arms crossed, observing everyone as they scurried about in search of a single book.

"You need more help, Partner?" the spirit asked, his attention turning to the corner of the room where Jounouchi was fussing with a stuck suitcase. "I can phase through objects, you know."

Yugi's eyebrows knit together in worry and he pursed his lips. He appreciated the offer, but he knew how much Yami disliked walking through things or things walking through him. It violated the boundaries of personal space on a completely different level and Yugi couldn't ask him to do that.

"It doesn't feel as strange walking through objects as it does with another person." Yami added and hummed in thought. "I suppose it has something to do with inanimate objects not being alive or...something like that."

Yugi continued to look worried, but he smiled. If Yami was really okay with it...

"Thanks, other me."

The spirit returned Yugi's smile briefly before moving away from the stack of boxes he was leaning against and wandering off into the attic. Yugi stared after him for a moment before returning to searching his own area.

"God. Damn. _Thing_!" Jounouchi cursed, the chair he was struggling to move proving to be quite the formidable opponent. The wooden piece of furniture just refused to cooperate and move out of his way. "C'mon, move!"

Anzu shook her head at the blonde, but said nothing. She was seated on the floor with an open box in front of her and a photo album she found resting across her lap. She flipped a page, paused, and suddenly giggled.

"Aw, Yugi, you were the cutest toddler!" she gushed, much to Yugi's embarrassment.

A dark blush crossed Yugi's cheeks. He tried to say something to that, but found he had nothing to say at all and settled for giving a whiney groan.

/ / _Oh, were you now?_ / / he heard Yami say through their link, waves of amusement hitting him. / /_ I have to say, I'm curious-now what's this? /_ /

Yugi's attention caught at the sudden change in emotions and his blush thankfully began to fade as he turned to search for his missing friend. Where had he gone? He could feel him nearby, but he couldn't see him anywhere.

/ _Did you find something? /_ Yugi asked, feeling hopeful. He should have known Yami would end up finding it.

/ / _Maybe...there are books here, but I can't move them to see the titles._ / / came the answer. / / _Hold on. You can't see me like this. _/ /

Yugi continued to scan the attic for any sign of his friend and at last spotted him less than a foot away, having apparently been crouched down this whole time. Yugi carefully made his way around a couple towers of boxes to reach him, but accidentally bumped into a chair on the way and tripped over a lone box seated beside the chair.

Certainly not his most graceful moment.

"Oof!"

Yugi winced as he hit the ground. There was thankfully nothing sharp or pointy scattered across the floor to break his fall. As for the puzzle around his neck, it seemed to have a mind of its own and swished off to the side just in time to avoid puncturing a hole in its wielder's chest. Yugi imagined Yami had something to do with that, however.

Speaking of which, no sooner had Yugi touched the ground had Yami rushed to his side.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern, a hand immediately coming to hover over Yugi's back and the other over the teen's shoulder.

Yugi pushed himself up on his elbows and sighed at himself. He had been so careful, too.

"I'm alright, other me." he responded and moved to push himself to his knees. "Just having a clumsy moment."

"Yug, you alright?"

Yugi looked up to a wall of boxes sitting before him and saw Jounouchi peering over the top. He was quickly joined by Anzu and Honda. Yugi laughed and made a dismissive wave with his hand.

"I'm alright. Just tripped over a box, is all."

Jounouchi's shoulders sagged a little in relief and he grinned.

"Just checking. Hey, you guys found anything yet?"

Honda briefly glanced back at the area he had been searching before shaking his head and shrugging in defeat.

"Nothing so far. Just a lot of frilly stuff." he answered.

Standing in-between the two, Anzu held a dusty photo album to close to her chest and seemed rather pleased with herself (if the smile tugging at her lips and the delighted gleam in her eyes were anything to go by).

"No~" she answered, a little too cheery for Yugi's liking. He had to find a way to get that album back before the girl made herself copies. Toddler Yugi wasn't a thing he wanted circulating outside of the attic, no matter how adorable everyone thought said Toddler Yugi was.

"Aagh, me neither." Jounouchi admitted, turning to glare at a certain problematic chair.

"Actually, the Pharaoh said he might have found something." Yugi said, moving to stand on his feet. He dusted himself off and turned to Yami. "Some books?"

Yami nodded and walked over to where he previously found the books. He crouched down and partially phased through a stack of boxes (which was such an odd thing to witness). He pulled out after a moment and pointed to the very bottom of the stack.

"It's this one." he confirmed. "Be careful, though. The box above it has a set of kitchen knives and the box doesn't appear to be that sturdy."

"That one." Yugi repeated, pointing to the same box Yami had directed him to. "He says there are books in that one."

"I'm on it!" Jounouchi cried and he enthusiastically leapt over the wall of boxes to join Yugi. He crouched down (thankfully next to Yami rather than through him) and ran a finger over the box's edge. "This one, you said?"

"Yeah, but be careful." Yugi warned. "He said the box above it isn't very stable and has kitchen knives in it."

"No offense, Yugi, but your attic is a safety hazard." Honda replied, shaking his head at the news. "Hold on there, Jounouchi. You're going to need some help with this one."

Since Honda was already close to a short path that lead to the little enclosed area, he took it and quickly joined the other boys. He carefully ran his fingers over the edges and sides of the knife box, in search of weak spots. He frowned after a moment.

"The Pharaoh's right. This box is in bad condition. I'm not even sure we can move it without it falling apart on us."

Jounouchi frowned, but shrugged nonetheless.

"Not like we have much choice." he responded, attention moving to the decaying box. "Unless the Pharaoh can levitate objects, we gotta move it."

Yami moved out of his crouch and moved to stand by Yugi's side, rolling his eyes as he went.

"I don't do that sort of thing for free." he replied despite Yugi being the only one who could hear him. "Besides, I don't do parlor tricks. Too tedious."

Yugi shook his head and found himself paraphrasing again.

"He can't."

"I didn't think so." Jounouchi mumbled, unknowingly earning himself a Yami pout. "Alright Honda. On the count of three, we lift this thing and drop it on that box."

The teenager pointed towards an empty space beside them, where a stack of boxes resided. Had the knife box been more stable, they could have just slid it over and out of their way.

Honda didn't look too thrilled about picking the box up, but he made no protest and got into position, fingers sliding under one side of the box. Jounouchi copied his movements and on the count of three, they quickly lifted it and transferred it to the available space beside it. The cardboard seemed to sag as it rested on its new home, almost as if it would suddenly burst and spill its contents.

It was now lopsided, but it didn't break open.

Satisfied that it was now safe to continue, Honda tore open the lid to the box containing the books and the gang all crowded around it to peer inside. It was loaded with an array of different sized collections of literature, but none of the titles were facing them. Honda picked a book at random and pulled it out to check the title.

"Edgar Allen Poe?" he read, catching the book's author on the cover.

Yugi and Anzu each grabbed a book from the box while Jounouchi tried to figure out which one to look at first. Yugi read the title of his _A History of Osaka_ before sighing and reaching for another book. Anzu did the same after having a quick look at hers.

This went one for quite some time. The box slowly emptied and Yugi was beginning to lose hope that the book his grandfather wanted was even there when Anzu suddenly cheered, startling all of them.

"I found it!" she exclaimed, grinning at the book's title. "Alice in Wonderland. I guess it really was here all along. It's a little beat up, though."

She turned the book over and over in her hands, checking out the damage it had sustained over time. It certainly did look worn. The cover was faded, its silver letters chipped and its edges a dark, rusty color. The pages (from what Yugi could see of them) were yellowed and even brown in some areas.

"Eh, I don't think Gramps is gonna sell this thing." Jounouchi stated, eyeing the book with a skeptical stare. "I don't even think he could give that thing away."

Anzu handed the book over to Yugi and he flipped it open to get a better look at the damage to the pages. The damage wasn't as bad as it could have been, he was pleased to find. The yellowing only affected the edges. The actual text was safe. He flipped the page.

And found nothing. It was blank.

Yugi's eyes took on a confused shine and he flipped to the next page.

Again, he was met with a sea of blankness.

He quickly thumbed through the rest of the pages, but that just made matters worse. The whole book (aside from the first page) was blank.

"I...it's blank!"

Jounouchi blinked.

"Say what now?"

Yugi helplessly leafed through the pages again.

"The book! It's completely blank!" he repeated. He held the book out for the others to see as he flipped through more pages. "There's not a single word in here except for the first page!"

Honda looked at a loss for how to respond and Jounouchi just continued to gape at the pages in astonishment. How was it possible for a book to completely lose all of its text?

"Well, what does the first page say?" Anzu asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean, there's...a book _can't_ just lose its story! Is the cover fake?"

Yugi shook his head at the question.

"No. It's real, but...hold on."

He flipped to the only page that had text and quickly read over it only to discover that it was a poem. A short one. He returned to the first sentence and read it out loud.

"_A journey's end comes again and again,_

_but why read another's story when you can make your own begin? _

_Choose your poison, choose your path. But don't dally. _

_Because if you're not careful, the journey won't last.  
_

_Can you survive to see another day?  
_

_Why not find out and come here to play._"

And that was all it said.

-x-x-x-x-

Serena: I was going to add more, BUT IT'S LONG ENOUGH, don't you think? Almost 9,000 words. *whistles* What a long first chapter... anyway, what did you guys think? If you survived all that, would you like to see more? It gets trippy and unusual from here on out. Let me know in a review if you would like to see more. I'll be less inclined to write if no one wants to read it. So, please do review and I'll have a talk with Anzu about making Toddler Yugi go viral~


	2. 02-Choose Your Poison

Serena: The Sery is here with an update of fluffy goodness~! Well, friendshippy fluffy sweetness only because it's hard to have Yugi and Yami do anything together without _something_ about it being diabolically adorable. Hmm...that should be a tagline for their relationship. Diabolically adorable. I like it~ ANYWAY, how many of you guys and gals expected a crap-ton of OCs? Any? Well, about that. Let me explain you a thing about a thing: **Muffins**. Muffins are tasty~ ...what were we talking about? Oh! Song lists! You know, stuff that helped me write whatever chapter I'm on. Yeeeeaaah. I like that idea. Let's do this shiz~

Songs: At the Gala (20% Cooler Remix) by Sim Gretina and a Nico Nico chorus of Nekomimi Archive.

A big thank you to PoisonIvy1998 for the lovely review~!

Warnings: AU-ish (should probably remove the –ish in that, but eh). Magic potion abuse (does that count as drugs?). Mai's cleavage. A reformed cannibal. Talking animals. Mai's cleavage. Uhhh...other stuff (like Mai's cleavage). Oh! And that diabolical adorableness I was rambling about before. Seriously. They should give a warning for diabetics.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, I am sad to say. Which is just as well. I'd probably be murdered for the things I'd put them through. Like this. Definitely this. I'm not sorry, tho. Taste my non-sorrow~ It tastes like dumplings. ...I'm hungry.

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 2: Choose Your Poison

-x-x-x-x-

Yugi felt a ripple of some foreign power slice through the air the moment he uttered the last word of the poem. It didn't linger past its appearance, but that one, subtle flare of magic gave off an ancient, twisted vibe and he could have sworn he saw a flash of color out the corner of his eye. He turned his head to gaze in the direction where he thought he had seen the color appear, but as expected, there was nothing there. There was only the off-white wall and the shadows of the room stretched across it.

/ _Did you feel that?_ / Yugi asked the spirit, turning his bothered gaze onto his friend. If he was able to feel something so fleeting, then he was positive Yami had felt it, too.

/ / _I did._ / / Yami responded, nodding his head once in confirmation. He glanced at the attic door and then at the ceiling before returning Yugi's concerned gaze with one of his own. / / _I don't know where it came from, but now the whole room feels off. I just._../ /

Yami glanced at the wall beside them and a flow of anxiety washed through their link. He was looking for something, _anything_ that would explain the sudden disturbance the two of them had felt. But there was just nothing to be seen.

/ / ..._cannot explain why. __**Something**__ is different._ / /

The off-white walls of the attic groaned suddenly (as if under a massive weight) and the window's glass shook none too gently as a strong gust of wind hit the outside of the building. The noise of the shaking glass was loud enough to startle the five of them and when they turned to look out the window, they noticed a peculiar sight: a sea of baby blue.

"The hell?" Honda muttered, raising an eyebrow at the display in confusion.

Without a word and seeing as she was the closest, Anzu moved away from the group to give an up- close inspection of the world on the other side of the window. When she reached it, she lifted an arm to place a hand against the glass, but jumped a little when it rattled again from the force of another gust of wind. She quickly composed herself, however, and set her hand against the cool glass.

She promptly gasped at the sight outside and yanked her hand away from the window, as if burned.

"Anzu, what-?" Jounouchi started, but was quickly cut off by her.

"Everything is _gone_!"

She turned back to face them, eyes widened in surprise and lips quivering as she tried to explain what she had seen.

"Th-the street a-and the buildings and..." she stumbled out. She shook her head, her short hair flying wildly around her cheeks and pointed an accusatory finger at the window. "There's _nothing_ out there but clouds! I can't even see the ground!"

"Whoa, whoa. Now hold on just a second there." Jounouchi said, waving his hands in the air as he drew closer to the wall of boxes. He seemed torn between denial and believing in what he heard. Anzu had no reason to blatantly lie like that, but Yugi supposed it _was_ a rather unbelievable thing for someone to say. Still... "What do you mean ya can't see the ground? That's crazy!"

Anzu's eyes narrowed and she made a point to lift her arm and punch it through the air in another jab towards the window.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm serious!" she insisted. Her other hand clenched at her side and she looked fearful. "I-I couldn't see _anything_! The street isn't there. There's just...sky."

"I didn't feel anything move." Honda said and turned towards the attic door. He stared at it a moment in contemplation before moving towards it. "Let me just..."

/ / _Yugi. The book. _/ /

Yugi jumped a little, having not expected the Pharaoh's voice to be spoken so suddenly and urgently. He blinked up at the elder man, but Yami had his eyes fixed on the blank storybook Yugi still held in his hands. Curious, the teen let his gaze return to the book and on the page where the poem had been, a new set of words resided.

The poem itself had vanished.

"But that's impossible." Yugi mumbled. His eyes narrowed at the page in confusion. Something was supremely unnatural about this supposedly blank piece of literature. "What kind of book is this?"

"Whatever it is, I don't like it." Yami stated. He scanned the little bit of text that had replaced the poem and his eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand any of this..."

The sound of a door creaking open caught the spirit's ears and he turned towards the attic door to see Honda pulling it open. When it was indeed open, Yami could only stare in a shocked sort of blankness at the expanse of baby blue resting on the other side of the door. Honda shared his expression, shoulders slumping as he gawked at the view.

"...oh, shit." the brunet muttered, the hand that was still on the handle of the door tightening. A foggy wisp of a cloud slowly floated by the attic entrance, fully content in its airy travel. "Guys..._guys, oh, shit."_

Yugi kept his attention trained on the book and read over the new text to himself.

_One clear, blue day, a set of travelers came to visit from a world beyond the veil.  
They came in a wooden airship, but the wind was strong that day and the airship began to fall apart._

The cloud that was lazily rolling by suddenly sped up as the outside wind began to pick up again. The wooden floor boards creaked and the window rattled rather violently, the very wall it was incased in seeming to tremble at the outside force. If it blew any harder than it currently was, it would break.

_Seeing as it was unfortunately made of an unsteady wood and therefore not suited for strong winds, the airship was easily overpowered, you see._

Box lids fluttered in the wind and an old rocking chair seated in the corner began to rock as best it could with all the storage surrounding it. Instead of stopping as it had before, the wind kept up its speed and the entire attic seemed to heave under the pressure. Groaning and creaking reverberated around the room rather audibly. The rattling of the window continued as well and even seemed to increase in severity.

_And those newcomers inside, the poor little dears, they all fell down, down, down to the great vale of tears._

There was a brief moment in which no one dared to move and in that moment, the new passage of text Yugi just finished reading struck a chord within the teen. His eyes widened at about the same time as Yami's did and they shared a look, both finding sudden clarity in the little story now printed in the book.

"Uh-oh."

Anzu suddenly shrieked as the window completely shattered behind her, spraying particles of wood and glass all over the floor. Some of the particles hit her back and legs and while she didn't get impaled by broken glass or have her skirt torn, the backs of her legs received a few cuts and she winced.

"Shit!" Jounouchi shouted over the sudden roar of wind. "Don't tell me this thing's breaking!"

"I'd _love_ to, but I don't think lying will do us much good now!" Honda replied before yelping in surprise as he was thrown to the ground from a sudden jerk courtesy of the wind. The others joined him as they, too, fell to the floor in ungraceful heaps. Honda was lucky he had such a good grip on the door or else he would have tumbled out the doorway. "Fuck!"

A loud crunching noise cut through the air and they heard something break from the outside. The wall where the window had been was left with a large, jagged hole and the wall seemed to swell inward for a moment as wind pushed against it before quickly reversing its direction and breaking apart altogether, taking some of the floor boards and a lot of the attic's storage with it. In a flash, it was all gone, having been carried away by the wind.

Anzu's eyes widened in fright at the sight of the jagged ledge left in its wake. Not wanting to be pulled out by the wind or thrown out by another jerk on the attic remains, she tried to stand and join the boys, who (all things considered) where in a much safer position than she was.

Seeing the danger his friend was facing, Yugi began to quickly maneuver his way through the sea of boxes and junk in order to reach Anzu. Honda tried to join him, but the wind whipping around the open doorway jerked him to the ground and he had to maintain his grip on the door handle so he didn't fall out.

"Anzu, come on!" Jounouchi cried. He hoisted himself over the wall of boxes and stretched his arm out to her, urging her to take his hand. "Take my hand! I'm not letting you fall!"

But the wind had other ideas for the poor girl.

Just as she managed to push herself to her feet, the attic rocked as it began to tilt towards her and she lost her balance. She hopped on one foot and flailed her arms about in an attempt to right herself. She was fairly close to Jounouchi and in her flailing, she tried to reach out and grab his hand, but her hand was a few inches to far. As the attic continued to tilt, she, too, tilted and with a scream, she was thrown backwards and out into the endless sky.

"ANZU!"

Yugi was thrown to the ground by another jerk of the attic, but he stared at the broken ends of the ledge Anzu had tumbled over, eyes widening with tears.

"Anzu, no..." he muttered.

Jounouchi stared into the space their brunette friend once occupied, hand held out helplessly and eyes wide in disbelief. Slowly, his eyes started to narrow and the fingers of his outstretched hand began to curl into a fist.

"D-DAMN IT!" the blonde shrieked, pounding his fist into the wall of boxes. "I...I almost had her! She was right there..."

The attic and wind gave them no reprieve from their loss. More cracking and snapping sounds filled the air and the attic gave another lurch before the floor snapped in half. Storage boxes and all their contents began to fall through the gradually widening crack and, unfortunately for Yugi, he was right in the middle of all the chaos.

Yugi cried out as he slid and consequentially slipped through the giant crack the wind had created. Before he could completely fall out, however, he managed to grab hold of a broken piece of the floor and was now dangling from it, all the while receiving a nice view of the world far, far below them.

/ / _Don't look down! _/ / he heard the spirit frantically demand. Unfortunately, Yugi did so just as Yami told him not to and the teen paled. They were at a ridiculously tall height. He heard Yami groan. / /_ Try to hold on! Honda and Jounouchi are coming after you! _/ /

"Yugi, you're going to be okay!" Honda yelled out to him as he tried to carefully maneuver his way to where Yugi was hanging. The constant pulls and pushes of the wind combined with the rocking attic made this difficult, however. "We're gonna pull you up!"

"Hang on, buddy!" Jounouchi shouted down to him. He was about as far away as Honda was, but the section of attic he was on wasn't quite as damaged as Honda's side was. Chances are he would reach Yugi first (if the wind didn't have any say in the matter).

Yugi tried to nod, but squeaked as the piece of flooring his was holding on to jerked downward. He shut his eyes after accidentally glancing down again. He felt dizzy. This was way too high a place for a human to be.

'_If I survive this, I'm __**never**__ getting on a plane again!'_

Yami was stressing far too much to find Yugi's thought amusing. In fact, the only part of Yugi's

thought that seemed to register was the "surviving" part.

/ / _Partner. Listen to me. You're going to fine._ / / Yami tried to soothe as calmly as he could manage, despite his own feelings. Yugi couldn't help but think he was trying to convince himself of that, though. / /_ They'll reach you. It will be alright._ / /

And it would have been, but a sudden yelp from Jounouchi made Yugi open his eyes and look up. He saw his blonde friend trip into a hole in the floor and Yugi called out to him.

"Jounouchi!" he shouted, becoming only slightly relieved when the blonde caught the edge of the hole and pulled himself back out. "Both of you, be careful!"

"I'm alright, Yug!" his friend called back, flashing Yugi a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't worry about us! Just concentrate on holding on!"

Yugi sighed, momentarily forgetting about his own dilemma as he shook his head. The wind (which had been whipping around his legs without much force) suddenly blew downward harshly, almost as if it was determined to break his hold on the floor. Yugi felt his hands slipping and let a little gasp filter past his lips as he heard the splitting of wood. In the blink of an eye, the section of floor he was holding on to broke and it separated from the rest of the attic. Then, he was falling through the air, like Anzu before him.

He distantly heard the voices of his friends screaming his name over the rush of wind rushing past him and in a burst of terror, he let out a scream of his own as the attic quickly disappeared from his sight.

-x-x-

After some time had passed (how much, neither Yami nor Yugi knew; it felt like hours), Yugi's fall suddenly began to slow down until he was floating just as easily as the lazy clouds above him. The strange pocket of air he had fallen into sparkled all around him with specks of a bluish color. He blinked as the magic pocket of air gently turned him into an upright position, being careful not to turn him too quickly least he become sick. With the new vantage point, he could clearly see the ground steadily coming up below him.

"What...is going on?" Yugi murmured, glancing around with confusion shining in his eyes.

It was oddly soothing to float around in the air like this. He felt weightless, like he could swim through the air just as easily as in water. He continued to descend at this floaty pace and took the sudden peace as a chance to have a look around.

Thick trees that easily rivaled Domino City's buildings stood towering over him. Long, twisting branches full of healthy green leaves (some tiny and others _enormous_) swayed gently in the light breeze and growing out of the bark of the trees was a strange sight: mushrooms. _Giant_, multicolored fungi (that appeared to have natural patterns including checkerboards, stripes, and even polka dots) sat here and there. There were some red and white checkerboard patterned ones growing at the base of one tree and another had blue and green polka dotted ones dotting its trunk.

And on either side of one of the checker boarded ones sat a bulbous frog and big-headed snake, both wearing waistcoats and top hats. The snake pushed its tail at a decapitated daisy it was using as a chess piece. The frog didn't look happy about this move, but it was hard to tell. He had a grumpy sort of expression that seemed perpetual. It was a good poker face.

"I don't think we're in Japan anymore." Yugi mused out loud. He couldn't decide whether to stare at the unlikely chess players or pretend he hadn't seen them at all.

He quickly decided on the latter when the snake hissed at him for staring.

"Kids..." he heard the snake mumble to itself.

The frog croaked in agreement.

When Yugi was just inches from touching the ground, the cocoon of magic air that had saved him from a splattering death released him. He dropped to the ground, safe and completely unharmed. He glanced back up into the sky, trying to comprehend what had just happened. One minute he was falling at a terrifying speed through the air and the next, he was touching down to the ground, just as if he were a cherry blossom petal that had fallen from a tree rather than a teenager that had been thrown from a floating attic.

He felt a flood of relief rain over him from a previously too-shocked-to-react Yami and he was sure that if the spirit could have hugged him just then (if the whole incorporeal thing hadn't been an issue), he would have done so.

/ / I_ thought-...oh, Partner, if you had-...I'm just so glad you're safe._ / /

Yugi felt a bubbling happiness in his chest and couldn't help himself from giggling until he dropped to the ground in a fit of laughter at the whole situation. He was just so relieved and happy to be alive that it suddenly all seemed so bizarrely funny. Yami quickly found his charge's laughter to be contagious and joined him, their laughter quickly filling the air.

Seeing as they had survived, Anzu had to be alive somewhere, too. This also meant that Jounouchi and Honda would be alright as well. No one would be reduced to being just a gory splatter in the green earth. His friends would be okay.

"Yugi?!" a familiar feminine voice suddenly called out to him. "Yugi, over here!"

They let their laughter die down and Yugi glanced up from his spot on the grass to see a smiling Anzu waving at him from several feet away. She was seated on a large rock overlooking a pool, legs dangling over the sides as a small waterfall fell behind her. The smile Yugi had on his face widened and he quickly pushed himself to his feet to wave back at her.

"Anzu!" he replied and moved to run over to her side. He barely resisted the urge to tackle her with a hug, but upon reaching her, the brunette girl promptly hopped off the rock and threw her arms around him. He returned her hug. "Anzu, are you okay?"

Anzu tightened her hold, like she hadn't seen him in years.

"I'm alright, but...oh, Yugi, it was awful! I thought I was going to die!" she answered before pulling away from him and sending him a teary-eyed look. "A-and all I could think about was that you guys were going to have the same thing happen to you and I just-"

She stopped herself and wiped at her eyes, trying to push away the tears that were threatening to fall.

Yugi's smile turned sympathetic. He knew how she felt. He had had those exact same thoughts during his own fall.

"Anzu..."

The girl shook her head and smiled, recovering from her moment of sadness.

"I'm okay..." she insisted. She blinked away the rest of her tears and put her hands behind her back. "What about you, though? Are you okay?"

Yugi thought about it for a moment before giving a little laugh.

"Yeah. I'm fine." he replied and looked up to the sky again. "Jounouchi and Honda won't be for a few minutes, though."

Anzu let her gaze drift to the sky as well and she gave a short giggle, knowing that while the two would be scared out of their minds, they wouldn't be hurt. She turned back to the rock she had been sitting on and her mouth formed an "o" as she seemed to remember something. She turned back to Yugi.

"By the way, you need to check this out." she said and began walking towards the waterfall. "There's this statue in the water and...well, you just need to see it for yourself."

Yugi turned away from the sky to stare at her curiously. He moved to follow along behind her and they both stopped at the edge of a shallow pool of crystal clear water. He let his gaze linger at the bottom of the pool for a moment before his eyes roamed upward and he blinked in astonishment.

"Oh, wow..."

Steadily falling into the shallow pool was a small waterfall. Sitting under it with water pouring over its shoulders was a giant stone bust of a crying girl. Tufts of green moss were growing in her long hair and all places where water touched had greenish tints coating the stone. The girl's hands had been eternally carved to cover her rounded cheeks and water was steadily streaming from her eyes and falling into the pool flowing around her chest. The look in her eyes made her seem so utterly sad and lost, like she didn't like being where she was.

"I know." Anzu said as she, too, stared up at the crying statue. "It's amazing, but this whole place is."

Yugi tore his gaze away from the statue to take in the sights around them once more. The grass beneath their feet was a lush green type and all around them grew an assortment of strange but beautiful flowers in varying hues of purple, pink, yellow, and blue. They danced in the breeze, their petals ruffling with each pass of the wind.

This place was like something out of a fairytale.

/ / _I have to wonder about that. _/ / he heard Yami say and he agreed with his partner's musings.

The storybook they had found was no storybook at all (or, at least, it wasn't a natural one that a child should pick up). It had predicted their untimely fall from the sky and Yugi was willing to bet his non- existent hair gel that if he still had that book, it would have new text in it saying something about what would happen to them next. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it), the book was lost to the wind and he doubted either of them would ever see it again.

"My, my, my~" a voice said out-of-the-blue. "What tasty little-ah, I mean, _sweet_ children we have here~"

Yugi and Anzu turned to look out across the valley and saw a voluptuous woman walking towards them with a strange smile curving over her lips. A mane of golden, perfectly-styled tresses fell around her shoulders and a shimmering silver crown with a single purple gemstone embedded in the center hung across her forehead. She wore a long-sleeved dress the color of Wisteria that fell down in silky waves to her ankles and a corset top was cinched around her waist (highlighting her well-endowed breasts in a way that couldn't be ignored).

She was very beautiful, but also _very_ familiar. Yugi blinked up at her, his eyes filling with recognition.

"Mai?" he questioned, hardly believing who he was seeing. It was hard to mistake that powdered face and those plum-colored eyes, though. "Mai Kujaku? What are you doing here?"

Mai paused for a moment and blinked down at him, a twinge of incomprehension filtering through her gaze.

"_Kujaku_?" she questioned. She looked thoughtful for a moment before waving the word away with a hand and turning her nose up at it. "I don't know anyone with that name. _My_ name is just Mai. _Duchess_ Mai."

"_Duchess_?" Anzu repeated, lips pursing at the name. "You're kidding."

Mai looked offended at the prospect of being told that she didn't know her own name and she bristled.

"Why would I _joke_ about something like that?" the woman demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you see _me_ saying nasty things about _your_ name? Not that I know what it could be, but it's still rude!"

Anzu blinked at her, eyes widening a fraction.

"I wasn't trying to be rude." the brunette defended, seeming surprised. "I'm sorry, but...you don't know my name? Not even Yugi's?"

Mai sent her a halfhearted glare and her eyes gave the girl a quick once over.

"I don't see why I should know. We've never met before." she stated and whatever fire she had gained from Anzu's apparent rudeness gradually began to fade away. "Since you've brought the subject up, who are you?"

Anzu shared a look with Yugi before addressing the woman before them. She put a hand to her chest.

"My name is Anzu." she answered and then gestured to Yugi with the hand she had previously placed against her chest. "And this is my friend, Yugi."

"Uh...nice to meet you, Duchess." Yugi added, not sure what to say under the circumstances. "Forgive us. We're...new around here."

Here they had Mai (or someone that held a striking resemblance to her), dressed in Victorian-styled garments and claiming she knew neither he nor Anzu. It was fishy, but it wasn't like they could openly doubt her. She would just get angry again anyway. It made him wonder, though.

If Mai (or, again, someone that looked an awful lot like her) was here, then who else was?

The woman's eyes widened in intrigue at hearing this piece of information and she took a step closer to them, that odd smile playing across her lips again.

"Are you?" she questioned and she licked her lips for no apparent reason. "...would you two like to, ah, come for a visit? I left a pot of tea on the stove and company would be nice~"

Before they could even think of a response, a sudden clamor of screaming caught their ears and they turned just in time to see Jounouchi and Honda fall into that same pocket of magic air that had saved Yugi earlier. He smiled.

"Jounouchi! Honda!" he shouted out to them, giving them a wave. "Over here!"

Though he was still shell-shocked from the fall, Jounouchi perked up at the sound of his name. Honda just looked sick, face a twinge of green.

"No way...Yugi! Anzu!" Jounouchi shouted back and he returned Yugi's wave. "You guys are okay!"

"Honda sure doesn't look it..." Anzu commented, but smiled at the two regardless. She waved to them as well. "You'll be alright, too!"

"Not if I lose my lunch..." Honda mumbled. A hand flew to his mouth and he groaned.

After the pocket of air dissipated and left the two teenagers safely on the ground, Jounouchi wasted no time and ran over to give a proper greeting to his friends. Honda went straight for a bush and promptly hurled. Even though he couldn't be seen tossing his cookies, the frog and snake still sneered in disgust. They just weren't a friendly sort.

"Aw, man, I thought we were goners!" Jounouchi said after tackling Yugi in a hug. "I almost had a heart attack when you guys fell. Ya hurt or anything?"

Yugi smiled sheepishly.

"No, but it's a little hard to breathe..."

Jounouchi let him go and laughed.

"Oh, sorry about that."

Mai let her eyes travel up and down Jounouchi and, if possible, her odd little smile stretched even more, a hint of something Yugi couldn't name flashing across her eyes.

"Friends of yours?" Mai asked, twisting her body into a stance that better showed of her curvy assets. "If so, they're more than welcome to visit, too~"

Seemingly having only just now noticed her, Jounouchi turned and sent the woman an incredulous stare.

"Mai?" he questioned. His gaze dropped to her puffed out chest and he practically drooled. "Uhhh...ahm..."

Mai seemed overly pleased by this reaction. She immediately sauntered over to his side and wrapped her arms around one of his. She fluttered her eyelashes.

"What's your name, sugar~?" she asked, her painted lips puckering.

A dark blush bloomed across Jounouchi's cheeks and he struggled to give her an answer for a moment.

"Jah...Jou...Jounouchi." he said at last. He turned his head away slightly to cough into his hand. He sent Yugi a questioning look. "What ah...her?"

Yugi shrugged, just as lost as the blonde was. Mai (at least not their Mai) didn't act like this. Something once again seemed very suspicious about her, a concern Yami didn't hesitate to voice.

/ / I_f I didn't know any better, I would think she was trying to seduce him_. / /

/ ._..and? What __**do **__you think about all this? /_

He felt Yami shrug (which was an odd sensation to feel in your mind).

/ /_ I suppose I don't know any better._ / /

-x-x-

A little while later (after they had collected Honda and apologized to two very unhappy chess players), the gang found themselves seated around a round table with a lacy tablecloth, having tea with the Duchess (who had reverted to acting like the Mai they all knew sometime after the tea had been served). The hot amber liquid was very refreshing after all the stress they had suffered under recently and they almost managed to forget where they were (or, rather, where they weren't).

Until the foggy form of a black cat materialized out of thin air in Yugi's lap.

Yugi gave a little squeak in surprise and promptly dropped his tea cup onto the table, spilling liquid all over the tablecloth.

"Ches!" Mai exclaimed, seeming furious with the feline. "It's rude to jump into a guest's lap! You weren't even invited! What are you doing here?!"

"I heard there was tea." his deep, lazy voice said. He rolled his head up, his strikingly large, blue eyes staring up at Yugi unblinkingly. "I'm not opposed to petting."

Yugi blinked down at him, more than a little unnerved by having a cat appear out of nowhere. It didn't seem aggressive, at least. Slowly, he brought his fingers to the cat's fur and was surprised by how soft and airy it felt, like vapors of smoke. The cat (Ches, going by what the Duchess had said) purred at his touch.

"That doesn't mean you can just walk in unannounced and now you've ruined my guest's tea!" Mai insisted, huffing indignantly and crossing her arms.

"You're relapsing." the feline stated, causing Mai to flinch as if struck. "It's not good for your skin, but blood rarely is."

Jounouchi set down his teacup and turned a suspicious gaze onto the woman. What Ches had said unnerved all of them. Relapsing? What was she supposed to be relapsing from? Was it something involving...blood?

"What's he talking about?" the blonde asked, not bothering to hide the distrust in his voice and, really, he had been acting distrustful of her ever since the incident in the valley. "Relapse? From _what_?"

The Duchess looked very flustered by this sudden turn of events, hands fidgeting with each other. She suddenly stood from her chair and walked towards the kitchen stove, where her teapot was sitting. She shrugged as she shakily took hold of a clean teacup and poured a fresh cup of tea into it.

"We all have our vices." she murmured to herself. She opened one of the kitchen drawers and pulled something out of it before returning to fixing the tea. The sound of a corked bottle opening sounded. "I'm still recovering from mine."

Jounouchi made to say something, but a quick head shake from Anzu made him stop. He sent the golden-haired beauty another suspicious look, but sighed quietly after a moment. He picked up his tea and shrugged to himself.

"Yeah..." he mumbled, dropping the subject and sipping at his tea.

'_This is weird_.' Yugi mused to himself. He was referring to, well, everything. Mai's strange behavior, the cat in his lap, the mysterious storybook that had landed them here, the fall, the dreams...

He felt Yami stir uneasily and Yugi frowned. He sent his partner a concerned nudge.

/ _What's wrong? _/ he asked, wanting to understand the reason for the spirit's discontent.

Instead of answering right away, Yami materialized beside him and sent the cat purring in Yugi's lap a suspicious stare. Honestly, Yugi had expected the spirit to direct such a gaze onto Mai.

/ / _Him_. / / Yami answered, lips twitching into a frown.

Yugi glanced at the cat briefly before stifling a giggle.

/ _Don't tell me you're jealous. _/ the teenager teased, but Yami didn't seem to share his amusement. He continued to pin the feline with a stare. Yugi's eyebrows knit together in worry. / _Other me, what is it? What don't you like about him? _/

Before Yami could answer, Ches's eyes swiveled in their sockets in Yami's direction and its eyes flashed a hellish red so quickly that he wasn't really certain if the change in color had happened at all. It happened so suddenly that the spirit was a bit startled, but he recovered quickly enough. It wasn't possible for the feline to be able to see him. As the solver and bearer of the Millennium Puzzle, only Yugi could see him in his astral projected form.

At least, he thought so. Ches certainly wasn't looking away.

"What's your poison?" the cat asked suddenly and neither Yugi nor Yami were certain who he was talking to. He didn't seem to look at the person he was addressing unless he deemed it necessary.

A cup of some shimmering purple liquid was placed beside Yugi and he paused in his petting to stare into its depths curiously. What was this? More tea?

"Tea, of course." Mai answered, scoffing at the feline. She acted as if it were obvious. "Just drink it and go. I've no use for someone so...so _foggy_."

Mai waved her hands in the air as if trying to fan the invisible fogginess away. She returned to her seat.

"I'm sorry, Yugi." she apologized with a sigh. "He used to be my cat, but now he just pops in whenever he wants and on whoever he wants. It makes having guests difficult. Would you like some more tea?"

"It's alright. I don't mind." Yugi replied, sending her a sympathetic smile. "No reason to be sorry and, uh, thank you, but I'm fine."

Mai hummed and let the issue go. She picked up her own tea cup and dove right back in to whatever conversation they had been having before.

"So, why were you so high up in the air?" she asked, addressing Anzu. Earlier, Mai had insisted on bandaging the cuts the Anzu had received from the broken glass and the two of them had bonded a little. "That sounds terrifying."

"Well-"

Yugi was distracted from whatever Anzu was saying by the cat moving around in his lap. He glanced down to see Ches leaning forward. He sniffed at the violet liquid swimming inside of the cup, but he didn't try to drink it.

"Have a sip." the feline said quietly, flicking his tail at Yugi's stomach. Yugi could only guess that the cat was talking to him. "I couldn't possibly drink all this by myself."

Yugi glanced back at the strange, purple liquid. He wasn't all that thirsty anymore, to be honest, and whatever kind of tea that was didn't look all that natural to him.

"Yugi, was it?" Ches prompted, moving back to simply stare at the purple liquid. "I insist. It's rather tasty. Try it."

/ / _Partner, I don't think that's such a good idea._ / /

Yugi hesitated for a moment to consider the risks. The tea was an unnatural color that Mai hadn't served to them, not even herself. She and Ches didn't seem to have that great of a relationship. What if the liquid was poisoned or something? Or what if it was poisonous to humans and not animals?

Ches's tail thumped against his stomach again.

Or maybe he was just being overly paranoid.

The teen hesitated a moment more before deciding to try it. Despite her randomly lecherous behavior, Mai seemed friendly enough. If she saw Yugi about to drink something that could possibly hurt him, she'd probably demand that he stop. If she said nothing, then it was probably okay, right?

He heard Yami sigh.

/ /_You trust so easily. You should give me lessons. _/ /

Yugi rolled his eyes at that, but said nothing. He took hold of the cup and lifted it to his lips. He hesitated again when he saw Ches roll his head to look up at him, but collected himself and took a sip.

His eyes widened in delighted surprise. It was the single most _delicious_ tea he had ever tasted. It sent a shiver down his spine and he took another sip. Ches _did_ say he couldn't drink the whole thing by himself.

Ches purred and jumped up onto the table in a blur of fog. The Duchess seemed wholly displeased about this.

"No paws on the table!"

She was ignored with a flick of the feline's tail.

"I didn't catch your name." Ches began, turning to once again stare at the spot Yami was located. "Care to share, spirit?"

Yami was so unnerved by being openly addressed by someone other than Yugi that he didn't notice the shiver that ran down his own spine. Beside him, Yugi's eyes half-lidded under a dream-like fogginess and he began to sway in his seat.

"How-...I-...can you actually _see_ me?!"

Ches's tail flicked to the side.

"I'd move, if I were you." Ches said, completely ignoring the question (but it probably didn't need an answer anyway).

"Yugi, are you okay?" Anzu asked suddenly, taking note of her friend's strange behavior.

Yami blinked away from the cat upon hearing the concern in Anzu's voice. He felt a sea of strange emotions filter down their link and reached out a hand (intending to let it hover over Yugi's shoulder) when a wave of dizziness hit him. He swayed on his feet and brought a hand up to his head.

"Yeah, man, you don't look so good." Honda added.

Yugi lazily raised a hand and waved their concerns away.

"I'm...I'm fine." he said, attempting to steady himself. He sounded a little...high. "I just..."

The cup slipped from his hands and shattered against the floor, purple liquid spraying everywhere. Yugi's eyes slipped shut and he slipped from his seat, falling sideways out onto the floor. Yami tried to call his name, but, just as Yugi had, he collapsed to the floor and lost consciousness.

"YUGI!"

"I _did_ suggest he move." Ches mumbled to no one.

The three friends quickly leapt from their chairs and rushed to Yugi's side, but paused when something odd caught their sight.

"What the-?" Jounouchi started, but was cut off by a groan from Yami.

The spirit slowly pushed himself up to his knees and shook his head. What the hell just happened? Where had that dizzy spell come from?

'_It happened right after Yugi drank that tea. Could that be just a coincidence or-?'_

A small groan from Yugi brought the Pharaoh out of his musings and he turned to see his partner sprawled out on the wooden floor.

"Yugi!" he called out, a thick coat of worry covering his voice as he rushed to his friend's side. He leaned over him and set a hand against the boy's cheek. "Partner, are you alright? _Please_ wake up."

Yugi groaned again, but the hand against his cheek began to move its thumb and urged him to return to the land of the conscious. Slowly, his eyes opened and he turned his head just enough to see the violet irises staring down at him fill with relief. Yugi touched the hand at his cheek and groaned again.

"What happened?" he asked, feeling the fingers beneath his own twitch. "That was-"

He suddenly froze as Yami yanked his hand away, the spirit looking for all the world like he been caught doing something exceedingly scandalous. His eyes were probably about as wide as they could possibly go and it probably would have been amusing under different circumstances.

Then, Yugi realized.

He had _felt_ Yami's hand when it was resting against his cheek. He couldn't do that. Yami was just a spirit. He didn't have a body of his own!

Yugi's eyes traveled away from the man's face.

Well, the spirit _used_ to not have one. It looked pretty solid even as Yugi laid there staring at it.

"I..." Yami started, seeming at a loss for words.

Yugi pushed himself into a sitting position, his own eyes wide. How in the world had _this_ happened? Was Yami really...?

Yugi hesitantly reached out a hand towards the once-spirit and quickly poked at the Pharaoh's cheek before letting his hand retreat to the floor. A blush slowly spread across Yugi's cheeks out of embarrassment.

There were other ways of checking. He didn't have to _poke_ the guy. _Jeez_.

Yami blinked in confusion for a moment before he stifled a laugh. He held his hands up in a show of peace before reaching down and taking the hand Yugi had poked him with. He maneuvered their hands until both palms were pressed against each other. Yugi could feel Yami's amusement just as easily as he always could and whined a little, his blush refusing to dissipate. He looked away for a moment when Yami chuckled at him, but curiosity won out over his embarrassment and he turned back to stare at their hands curiously.

Yami's hand was just a little bigger than his own, long fingers gently pressing against his and only inches away from slipping between them. Yugi pushed against Yami's hand experimentally, just to test his friend's solidness more firmly. His nose scrunched up as he concentrated on pushing against him and it wasn't until Yami started chuckling at him again did he stop.

"Solid enough for you?" Yami asked, a smile playing across his lips.

Yugi blinked up at him before returning the smile and giving an affirmative "mm-hm!".

It was an endearingly sweet moment.

...which Jounouchi completely _ruined_ after falling flat on his ass and pointing an accusatory finger at the two of them.

"Y-Y-Yugi...there's two-I mean, i-it's...what the _hell_ is going on here?!"

-x-x-x-x-

Serena: Hmm. I think I forgot to add "Suspense" to the list of genres I mentally filed this under. Ah, give me a moment. *rubs forehead* Aaaaaannnnnd, there. Now, it's more properly filed for my convenience. So, aha, this story is a lot of fun to write and now that Yami is out and about, I can have twice the fun. Oh, the things I have planned for those two...*evil laughter* Diabolical adorableness, man. Can't beat that shit. So, opinions? Thoughts? ...same thing, isn't it? Ah, well, I'd be thrilled if you left me a review. The one I received last time was very delightful to read. I'd like some more delightfulness.** Also, if you think this is taking a Puzzleshippy turn, **then hey! _Chill_. That was a _platonic_ mess of cuteness that I wrote. Course, I certainly wouldn't mind if it was shippy. OTP and all. But you know, whether the Puzzleship tag is there or not, the story would be virtually the same. *shot* Just saying! But think what you want, my cheesy homeskillets. Till next time (whenever that will be)~!


	3. The Hare and Hatter

Serena: Just a quick little FYI. The whole subject of Yami getting a body and the reason why doesn't get explained all at once. It's going to be one of those things that you gradually learn about as the story progresses and, really, me telling you that doesn't give any of the plot away. Now, if I told you why that was, _then_ I'd be giving the story away. haha Anyway, this came out later than I wanted, but I had to get my shit together concerning the story. I know where it's going and everything, but there were some things I needed to smooth out. So. Yup. **Oh and uh**…Yami and Yugi holding hands and being playful and stuff is just the cutest of things, okay? …I do what I want. |D

Songs: Nocturne by NicolArmarfi (Katawa Shoujo Soundtrack) and Gangnam Style (Glee Version).

I'd like to give a thank you to yamiishot and Akemi for their nice reviews!

Warnings: AU-in-a-bottle-of-hallucinogens (shaken, not stirred). Random shit and diabolical adorableness (a la Yami and Yugi) strikes again. **Oh and the story rating will have to be higher**, I think. I don't know yet. Guess it depends on how graphic I get and I'll be the first to tell you that I can get rather wordy. So that's a thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, which should be glaringly obvious. Cuz I highly doubt Kazuki Takahashi jammed to dubstep and random Tumblr remixes while he messed with characters' lives. That's all me.

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 3: The Hare and Hatter

-x-x-x-x-

A head of multicolored hair tilted and a low hum was sent towards the image being cast in the mirror's smooth surface. Leather-clad legs shifted and an arm moved to set a hand against his cocked hip. Various red and white studded belts hung at low angles against around his hips and made the barest metallic clinks when the buckles bumped against one another. The man standing before the mirror turned slightly, a shine of uncertainty beginning to reflect in his amaranthine gaze. He moved the arm still dangling at his other side and silken curtains of purple cloth fluttered through the air as he held it out for further inspection.

He grunted softly after another moment of staring, a frown tugging at his lips. The fingers at his hips clenched ever so slightly.

"I feel silly." he concluded, eyes narrowing slightly. Why did he have to wear this again? No one else had to change.

Bubbling, amused laughter sounded from behind him. The spirit given flesh cast an eye on his partner's reflection, eyes softening a touch when he saw the wide smile on Yugi's lips. He shook his head at the amusement flooding to him and sighed before allowing his attention to return to his own reflection.

"Partner, I'm serious." Yami insisted, despite the flit of amusement in his own voice. "I look ridiculous."

Even as he stated his dissatisfaction with the clothing now wrapped around his recently acquired body, he knew he was only stating a half-truth. If he was being completely honest, the outfit wasn't as horrible as he was making it out to be. He could certainly live with all the studded belts and silver clasps now adorning his figure and the fact the ensemble was made of black leather was a nice bonus. However, the purple cloak and faint outlines of symbols carved into various areas of the leather, Yami couldn't help but feel, was an unnecessary addition. He also didn't particularly like the mismatched shoes (one red and the other white) and the odd card symbol clasps were rather strange.

It made him feel as if he were in a video game or was cosplaying someone that was in one. All that was missing was a sword or maybe some sort of eccentric hat and oddly-shaped staff. In comparison to the others, he was out of place and looked as silly as he felt.

"It doesn't look that bad."

Yami's attention diverted from the swirling symbols littering his outfit to Yugi's reflection once more. He watched as his partner hopped down from his seat atop Mai's vanity table and strode over to stand by his side, that smile still on the boy's face.

"You can barely see the symbols, other me. It's fine." Yugi insisted. He turned his smiling gaze up to Yami and gave a short laugh at the almost pout he saw. "Don't worry about it! I think you look great! Honest~"

Yami let the cloak slip from his fingers and he fingered the white, metallic spade below his neck. He hummed as he continued to survey his appearance. Yugi made a valid point. The strange runes were only a shade or two darker than the leather itself and could only be seen in a certain light. Also, he really did like the way the leather fit him. It was snug but allowed him plenty of flexibility to move as he pleased. As for the cloak, it was significantly longer than the short jacket capes he was used to donning and it had a tendency to wrap around him when his arms weren't moving, but it wasn't a major annoyance.

Plus, Ches _did _sort of insist he wear it. Yami just hoped doing so would offer no side effects (like drinking the purple tea had).

"I guess." Yami muttered, letting his other hand drop from his hip. "Still...I was fine with what I had before. A change in attire was not necessary."

Yugi sent him a helpless shrug.

"Everyone else agreed it would prevent any confusion." he said, reiterating Jounouchi's previous comment with a slight frown. "I...guess I can understand why. They aren't exactly used to seeing you as yourself and we do kinda look alike."

Yugi was a little hesitant to say as much, Yami could tell. Part of the teen just couldn't believe that he could be mistaken for his other. There were plenty of physical differences between them to prevent confusion, but his friends weren't used to any of this. Throughout their time together, everyone had simply referred to Yami as "Yugi" or, when they were actively aware of Yugi being overshadowed, "the Other Yugi". Yami had never really been considered as a completely separate entity until more recently and, even then, he was still considered a part of his partner.

"I suppose, but it sounds so absurd." Yami muttered. He shook his head at the thought before turning towards his partner. He brought a hand up to Yugi's cheek and gently brushed a thumb underneath the boy's left eye. He sighed softly, fingers fluttering across Yugi's cheek. "How anyone could confuse me for you..."

Yugi moved a hand to wrap his fingers around the hand at his cheek and smiled when Yami's eyes narrowed slightly in an affectionate gesture. The teen hummed his agreement and let his eyes wander down his other half's figure.

"Mm. You're taller." he observed. His eyes flickered back up when Yami chuckled and he pouted a little. "That's not fair, other me. You're about as tall as Anzu!"

Which was true. He and Anzu were roughly about the same height, but that had sort of always been the case.

"Blame genetics." Yami countered with an amused twitch of his lips. He let his fingers linger in Yugi's hold for a moment longer before letting his arm drop and returning that hand to his hip. His eyes flickered away from Yugi to send another curious glance at his own reflection. "Mm. I guess I can accept this. I've already gone through the trouble of putting it on."

Might as well wear it, he supposed. Besides, Yugi really did seem to like it and if his partner approved, how could he say no?

The once-spirit looked away from the mirror to gaze at his young companion and opened his mouth to address him, but a haze of black fog suddenly swam through the space between them and all that came from his throat was a small, startled gasp.

"Wha-?!"

The silken waves of smoke seemed to linger in the air like a cloud in the sky, but Yami blinked and the fog began to gently descend in rolling wisps. Yugi took a step back as the strange cloud billowed towards him, but he paused when it did nothing more than swirl around his legs. It did this a couple of times before the image of a black cat suddenly appeared from the head of the cloud, its front paws touching the floor as the fog finally reached the ground.

"Black suits you." the feline stated as the trail of smoke falling around it slowly began to dissipate. It rubbed its head against Yugi's leg in an affectionate gesture. "But the color of death would suit a spirit, now wouldn't it?"

The corners of Yami's lips pulled into a displeased frown. While he couldn't explain (even to himself) the reason for his continuous unease around the feline, it didn't change the fact that there was still _something _about this creature that just didn't feel right. Also, seeing how fixated the creature seemed to be on being near Yugi didn't help matters in the least. If anything, that just made the feeling worse.

"The outfit is unnecessary, but I have no qualms with wearing it." Yami stated. The cat's head rubbed against Yugi's leg again and Yami's fingers twitched. He was itching to pull Yugi away from the feline, but he forced himself to cross his arms instead. His eyes narrowed at the cat. "I take it you've come to explain yourself? Like why I even _have _a body?"

The cat floated up into the air then, as if being picked up by a pair of invisible hands. He lazily rolled over onto his back and without warning, his body vanished, leaving only his hovering head and shimmering blue eyes staring up at the ceiling unnervingly. The feline gave a low purr as he continued to rise through the air.

The strange, disturbing action caught Yami off-guard, but he remained collected for the most part. Across from him, Yugi's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the feline's floating head.

"You can do so much more with a proper body. Why question it?" Ches asked. His head rolling over to nuzzle Yugi's jaw, causing the young teen to giggle at the wisps of ebony silk that tickled his skin. Ches's body reappeared almost immediately after and he quickly moved to curl himself around Yugi's shoulders. "But if you must know, _aumberguithium_."

Yami and Yugi shared a curious blink.

"Aumber-what?" Yugi asked, frowning a little at the name. He turned his head the feline's way in an attempt to catch sight of more than just his fluffy tail. "What is that?"

Ches brushed his tail against Yugi's cheek and hummed.

"_Aumberguithium. _And the better question to ask is, _'What isn't it?'. _Like any liquid, it transforms itself to fit whatever mold it comes in contact with." the cat replied, ears twitching. His eyes seemed to narrow briefly. "Someone with an extra soul, though. That's a new one."

He moved to gently leap away from his place on Yugi's shoulders and climbed onto the gilded rim of the mirror with surprising ease. His puffy tail twitched as he sauntered up to the top, perfectly balanced in a way that utterly defied the laws of gravity and any kind of natural logic.

"What you drank is a potion filled with the essence of a poisoned tree that grows in the In-Between. That's a valley that separates the White and Red dominions." the feline explained. He seated himself atop the mirror like it was a chair, once again showing his lack of regard towards gravity. Was he still floating or did he just have unnaturally good balance? "It's not deadly or even technically poisonous, but, I suppose, a human probably shouldn't drink it."

Yami's fingers clenched around his arms and he could feel his anger flaring up at the statement.

"Then why did you insist Yugi drink it?" he demanded, eyes narrowing dangerously. He was trying to keep his temper in check, but it was hard. Ches was being so flippant about Yugi's well-being and if there was one thing the Pharaoh wouldn't stand for was for his partner to be disregarded in such a manner. "If _anything_ happens to him-"

"Something already did." Ches interrupted, eyes seeming to glow with contentment. "Aumberguithium's effects are _always _immediate, more or less. It pulled you out of him and then gave you a solid form since, I suppose, that was all it _could _do to you."

Ches let his tail curl around his body and yawned widely, showing off rows of pointed teeth.

"A temporary one, but a body nonetheless." he finished before turning his head towards the door, perhaps bored with the conversation. "If you're quite finished, I would like a nap."

"Temporary?" Yugi asked, eyebrows knitting together. He glanced up at Yami briefly and the elder man felt a ripple of concern lash out at him. Yugi hadn't liked hearing that and though Yami couldn't say he was surprised, he wasn't completely comfortable with the news either. "How can you tell?"

Ches's eyes rolled in their sockets to pin Yami with a stare. The creatures eyes flashed, an unnatural red hue briefly slithering over the cat's eyes like a bloodied snake. His tail slowly uncurled itself from his body only to fall lifelessly behind the mirror.

"Stay out of the Red Dominion." he warned, ignoring Yugi's concerned question altogether. The feline had a twinge of something ominous (something Yami couldn't name) floating in his otherwise disinterested voice. "We're _all_ mad, but no one goes there. Not anymore."

Yugi blinked. Further confusion and worry shone in his eyes and he took a small step towards the mirror (looking like he was about to question the cat again), but Yami stopped him. He moved to place an arm around Yugi's shoulders and at the questioning look he received, he merely shook his head and gently pushed Yugi towards the door. He had had quite enough interaction with that dark fog of a cat and he didn't want the creature upsetting his partner any more than he already was.

"It's fine, partner." he assured and gave Yugi's shoulder a squeeze in a sort of half-hug. He sent soothing flutters of reassurance and gratitude for the concern his partner's way, hoping to help Yugi relax. Yami doubted Yugi would completely let this go, but as long as the boy wasn't worrying himself into a funk over it (and he was one to talk), things would be alright. "I feel fine. Worse case scenario, I return to the puzzle, right?"

Yugi continued to look unsure about the situation, but the soothing emotions and general solidity of the arm around him gradually made him relax. He smiled a little and slowly nodded his head once.

"Mm."

Yami pushed the dressing room door open and the two of them rejoined the others in the combination kitchen/living room that rested on the other side of the door. They found that Jounouchi and Honda were still seated at the table, but Anzu was standing next to the stove where Mai currently was. All four seemed to be having their own little conversations, but upon Yami and Yugi's arrival, their idle chatter died down and their heads collectively turned towards them.

Yugi sent them all a smile and a little wave.

"Back." he greeted as he and Yami stopped a few feet in front of the table. Yami gave Yugi a quick shoulder squeeze before he removed his arm altogether and gave his partner a little space. "Did we miss anything?"

Jounouchi threw a random gesture at the table and shrugged.

"Nah, but you guys sure took your time." he answered, shaking his head as he flashed his friend a grin. He turned his attention Yami's way and sent him a short wave. "Nice outfit, by the way."

Yami huffed out a chuckle and inclined his head the blonde's way in a sort of bow.

"Thank you."

Over in the kitchen area, Mai tilted her head with a wondering hum as she took in Yami's appearance. Her eyes traveled up and down his figure, starting at the tight leather wrapped around his legs and torso to the splashes of red and white that made up his shoes and belts. She set a hand against her hip and gave another hum, this one sounding pleased.

"Ches may lack proper people skills, but he knows fashion. It's really the only thing I was ever able to teach him." she said as her lips curved into a pleased smile. "It's such a nice outfit. I could just eat you up~"

A rather bored disembodied sigh echoed throughout the room and a wisp of black smoke suddenly swam into existence right above the table. The sudden appearance made Jounouchi and Honda jump.

"Please don't." the voice said, originating from the cloud. "I rather like this one."

Within seconds, the fog molded itself into the shape of a cat and then Ches merely sat there staring straight ahead. The feline gave another wide yawn, his abnormally large mouth stretching all the way up to his ears. After yawning, he flicked his tail to the side and turned his head to stare up at the ceiling.

"The Duchess is a cannibal, you know." he stated, earning a couple of small gasps from around the room.

He earned an indignant scoff from Mai and a wide-eyed look from Anzu. The brunette girl gave the supple woman a startled look before taking a small step away in an attempt to create a little distance between her and the newly dubbed flesh eater. Mai took notice of this and balled her hands into fists before stomping at the floor.

"_Reformed_!" she cried, sending the cat a nasty glare. "I'm _reformed_! I haven't touched the stuff in ages!"

The gang all stared at her as if she had grown a second head (and promptly eaten it). Yami's eyes narrowed and he took a step towards the blonde-haired woman to not only put himself between her and Yugi but within grabbing distance of Anzu as well. Jounouchi had initially merely alternated between gapping at her and Ches, but his expression suddenly turned disgusted and he abruptly stood from his seat, his chair toppling over in his haste.

"So _that's_ why you were coming on to me!" he declared, having remembered the incident back in the valley. "You didn't invite us over for company!"

"You wanted us for _dinner_!" Honda finished in disgust as he, too, jumped to his feet.

Mai paled as she was assaulted by three sets of glares and her eyes widened a fraction as she took a step back. She bit at her lip and fidgeted with her hands before she looked down at the floor guiltily.

"...that was the original plan." she admitted, causing Anzu to take another step back. She jerked her head up. "But then I got to know you all! And...and you were so nice and tas-_friendly_."

She sighed and her shoulders slumped.

"I couldn't do it. If you could please forgive me, I would be very grateful."

Ches's ears twitched and he moved to jump off the table. As he headed towards the front door, smoke began to curl up into the air from his paws. His body slowly began to disappear, starting from the tip of his tail to the point of his nose.

"In her defense, she _is_ being sincere." he added without bothering to stop.

When he reached the closed wood of the door, he walked right into it and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Yami's posture relaxed a bit and his glare softened into a curious look. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, to be honest. Cannibalism was too horrible a thing to even _think _about, much less actually _do_. He distrusted her..._but _they had certainly forgiven people for trying to kill them before. Why should now be any different?

His eyes narrowed again as the woman licked her lips.

Still...

"I guess..." Anzu spoke up hesitantly. She bit her lip as Mai looked over at her hopefully and the brunette seemed to cave. "I mean, you did clean my cuts and bandage them for me."

"Probably so she could sneak a taste." Jounouchi mumbled.

Anzu's shoulders slumped and she shrugged.

"...I can forgive you."

Mai gave a small cheer and she rushed to sweep Anzu up into a quick, friendly embrace. Anzu gave a nervous smile, but didn't return the hug. Mai didn't seem to notice.

The blonde whirled around and clapped her hands together once, smiling brightly.

"Well, now that you've all forgiven me" she said, completely ignoring the fact that only Anzu had done so (and reluctantly at that). "how about a snack? I have this great recipe for pig snout pie. A little pepper makes all the difference, you know."

Honda paled at the mention of such a disgusting creation and looked like he was going to hurl all over again. He vehemently shook his head and held up a hand.

"Actually, we _really_ need to go." he said, to which Jounouchi agreed with quick nods of his head. "We're uh...kinda looking for a way home."

Mai pursed her lips at the news, but before she could open her mouth and have the chance to protest, Yami cleared his throat and lightly pushed at Yugi's shoulder, urging him to go towards the door.

"Honda is right. We really must be on our way." he stated, causing Mai to sigh in disappointment. "Thank you for your...hospitality."

"Mm. I understand. It can't be helped, I guess." Mai said. She seemed to sulk for a moment longer before brightening back up. She rose her hand up in a little wave. "Maybe next time then?"

Honda and Jounouchi hurried out the door while Yugi, Yami, and Anzu followed along after them. Once they were all safely outside the little cottage, Anzu shut the door behind them and sighed in relief.

"Let's get out of here." she mumbled and the others nodded in agreement.

-x-x-

With the threat of being eaten put behind them, the gang left the cozy shelter of the Duchess's cottage and wandered further into the valley. The mysteriously peaceful area was filled with all sorts of strange but eye-catching vegetation. Tendrils of thick, green ivy cascaded down the valley's walls and twisted themselves around and around the gnarled wood of the tree trunks greedily. The endless baby blue sea above them gradually began to vanish behind thick canopies of foliage until only scattered rays of sunlight could stream in, turning the once warm, open area into a shaded forest.

A place like this could truly only be found in fiction and Yami found himself admiring it greatly. It was far too peaceful for the modern, technologically advanced era and too imaginatively otherworldly to be found in anything outside of a childish fantasy. Despite their strange situation (magic books, talking animals that wore waistcoats, a cannibal sharing the form of a friend, spiritual separation from his partner, etc.), he felt content with his surroundings.

He took a moment to glance Yugi's way, only to catch his partner looking at him. They both shared a smile and Yami gave a soft chuckle before casually reaching over to wrap his hand around Yugi's. Yugi's reaction was only a blink and then a short giggle (as well as a sudden flowing river of general happiness that made Yami's smile widen). Yami felt his young friend lace their fingers together as they both turned back to stare into the tunnel of greenery that lay ahead (both promptly ignoring Jounouchi's playful little comment that the two of them get a room).

This certainly beat wandering around the labyrinth of the puzzle, that was for sure.

After a little while of walking in silent observation of their surroundings (with random conversations popping up here and there, including the subject of Yami's sudden physical appearance), Anzu shyly glanced Yami's way, curiosity shining in her cerulean gaze. Her eyes briefly dropped to Yugi and Yami's entwined hands and she smiled, trying to hide it with a hand as she stifled a giggle.

"Hey, um, Pharaoh?" she asked.

Yami's lips still had a small smile stretched across them when he turned his head Anzu's way, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Yes?"

Anzu bit her lip and took a moment to push a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear. Despite the canopy overhead shading them from the glare of the sun, snatches of wind still filtered through and kept making her hair flutter around her eyes.

"I was just wondering..." she continued, seeming a little hesitant to voice whatever it was she wanted to say. "What should we...call you?"

Yami blinked at the question, caught just the tiniest bit off-guard. What should they call him? What exactly did she mean by that?

"Pardon?"

Anzu gave a small, nervous laugh as the others waited for an answer from her. The breeze pulled at her brown tresses again and she reached up to tuck the strands behind her ear.

"I mean, what would you like for _us_" she said and gestured to herself, Jounouchi, and Honda. "to call you? It just doesn't feel right to call you "the Other Yugi" or "Pharaoh" all the time."

_Oh_.

Yami's eyes widened a fraction for a moment before they narrowed in thought. It went without saying that he had a name, but everyone already knew he couldn't remember what it was. He didn't particularly mind the names they already called him, but they did make him feel a bit...nonexistent, he supposed was the right word. Those names were more like titles than actual identities.

What, then, should he say? What would be suitable as a temporary identity?

"Yami." Yugi spoke up suddenly, only smiling when Yami turned to look at him in surprise. "That works, doesn't it?"

Yami blinked down at his partner once before chuckling. He nodded at the question and hummed, squeezing Yugi's hand in thanks.

"Mm." he said, accepting the given name without fuss. It _was _rather fitting, after all. "You can call me 'Yami'."

Anzu's eyes lit up a bit and she relaxed from her previous nervous state. She nodded her head at the name and turned away to look ahead once more.

"Okay. Yami it is, then." she replied and carried on walking with a bit more of a spring in her step.

They settled into silence once more, but it didn't last long. They eventually stumbled across a small clearing somewhere within the forest and in the somewhat more open area resided a raised metal platform of a rusty golden color. There was a small set of stairs attached on both ends of the platform that each had thin, completely broken and useless metal railings bending over the sides. Above the platform was the wire frame of an awning that had tatters of faded cloth clinging to it.

Yugi tilted his head as he stared up at a crooked sign that hung on the awning's front.

"Looking Glass Station?" he read. His eyebrows furrowed a little as he took in the dilapidated state of the platform. "Is this a train station?"

Yami let his hand slip out of Yugi's as he and the others walked closer to the ruined platform for further inspection. He stopped short of heading up the stairs and crossed his arms in his typical "no nonsense" pose. He hummed at the cracked, peeling metal and rose an inquisitive eyebrow at it.

"It doesn't look like one I've ever seen..." Yami muttered. He let his gaze travel to the torn awning cloth above. The pieces blew gently in the light breeze. "It looks abandoned."

"More than abandoned." Yugi added, frowning at a broken set of old railroad tracks he saw lying on the other side of the platform. The tracks cut off at both ends and curled up into the air, as if bent from a train accident. "It's completely broken. Why would anyone dismantle train tracks only to leave part of it behind? That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe it got stuck?" Jounouchi offered skeptically. He, too, was frowning at the twisted train tracks.

Anzu walked over to a sign post that was nearby and gave it a curious look. The words printed across the rusted octagon were faded and scratched off in some areas, but she was still able to make out the words.

"Next train...coming soon...?" she mumbled, frowning at the words.

Anzu leaned back and blinked, a hint of confusion shining in her eyes. She tapped a finger against her bottom lip and hesitated before leaning back towards the sign. Whatever she had been about to do (reread it perhaps?) never happened as the sign suddenly flipped around to its other side with a dinging sound, causing Anzu to jump back.

"!"

A loud train whistle suddenly blew and billowing towers of smoke could be seen shooting into the air from an unknown source a little ways away. The ground began to tremble from the sound of grinding gears and clattering metal as the wind began to pick up, tossing the group of friends' hair and clothes in every direction.

"Where is that coming from?!" Honda shouted over the roar of noise. He looked around in an attempt to locate the source of the noise, but he found nothing. "That can't actually be a _train_, right?!"

As if in answer of Honda's question, the train whistle sounded again and the air above the train tracks rippled as the form of a small train shimmered into existence. It heaved another stream of smoke into the air (causing the gang to cough as it fell down around them) and its metal wheels ground to a screeching halt as it stopped. The sudden wind died down and the door to the back cart jerkily slid open.

Two sets of skinny silhouettes came into view as the train's passengers began to exit the carriage.

"I told you just last week that we needed more glowing tulip bulbs," one of them huffed out, their voice sounding strangely familiar. "but did you listen to me? _Noooo_."

"I was _busy_ and you only told me _this morning_." the other grumbled out, clearly sounding annoyed. There was a shattering of glass hitting the floor. "You could have gone by yourself!"

The smoke began to disappear as the light breeze from before blew it away from the platform. The two passengers' forms gradually came into view and once they could actually be seen, the gang gaped at them in awe.

The first passenger jumped away from the second (as if trying to avoid being hit by something), the long black coat tails of his jacket flying around his legs as he moved. His legs were clad in checkered slacks colored in white and lavender and the vest-like shirt wrapped around his torso bore the same shade of purple. The white gloves covering his hands squeaked as the man clenched his fingers around a long, peculiar golden cane that he held.

"Don't throw things at me!" he shouted, facing away from Yugi and the others. The man straightened his posture and unclenched a hand to push at a top hat decorated with playing cards, roses and a golden sash back onto his blonde head. "Bakura, that was a perfectly good teacup!"

The one dubbed "Bakura" huffed a lock of white hair out of his eyes and a pair of long, white ears shifted into an agitated posture atop his head. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black vest buttoned around it. His trousers matched his vest and had a single chain hanging in a crescent shape from his belt. He set a hand against his hip and rolled his brown eyes before waving a hand dismissively at the oddly dressed man in front of him.

"I have plenty more. Don't get your knickers in a knot, Marik." the bunny-eared Bakura grumbled, tsking disapprovingly. He took a few steps away from the train and towards one of the stair sets. He paused, however, when he saw the gang gawking at him. His frown twitched, threatening to become deeper. "What are you all looking at? Never seen a train before?"

"Aahh...you uh, just look like someone we know." Jounouchi said, blinking out of his dumbfounded stare. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I think this place is starting to get to me."

Bakura raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms. He seemed about as happy with the answer as he had with being stared at.

"Oh, really?" he said, ears twitching but remaining in their agitated posture. "Well, don't stare. Didn't your mother ever teach you that staring was impolite?"

Marik turned and blinked down at the others curiously. He moved to stand by Bakura's side and waved his cane (which, now that Yami actually looked at it, resembled the Millennium Rod) around in a sort of greeting.

"Helloooo~" he greeted and set the tip of the cane down onto the ground so he could lean against it. He turned his head this way and that to get a good look at the group, but paused when his purple eyes caught sight of Yugi. His eyes widened a fraction and his lips curved into a strange smile. "_Oh_. Who are _you_?"

There was a sudden 'poof' and Marik disappeared only to reappear in front of Yugi, still in the exact same posture he had been in before. Yugi rapidly blinked at the sudden intrusion into his personal space and took a step back to put a little distance between them.

"Y-Yugi." Yugi answered, still a bit startled from the magic act.

Marik's eyes lit up at the mention of his name and he stood up straight again. He grabbed the rim of his hat and removed it in a grand flourish of a bow.

"I'm the Hatter here in Wonderland." Marik stated in greeting. He leaned back up and placed his hat back atop his head. He turned and gestured towards Bakura. "He's the March Hare. We live over in the Clockwork Tower."

Bakura grunted something unintelligible after being introduced and turned away to look out towards the vegetation. He offered no further response and seemed intent on ignoring everyone.

'_This whole situation just becomes stranger and stranger the longer we stay here._' Yami mused to himself. He looked between the familiar form of the spirit of the Millennium Ring and their enemy-turned-ally, Marik. He was nearest his partner and could easily jump to his aid if this incarnation of Marik tried anything, but he still felt uneasy. First, Ches shows a bizarre attraction towards Yugi and now Marik was showing signs of doing the same thing. '_The sooner we get out of here, the better. As much as I'm enjoying being by Yugi's side like this, he and the others are safer at home._'

"Oh, it's...nice to meet you both." Yugi replied. He gestured towards his friends and introduced each of them. "This is Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Yami. We're not from around here..."

Bakura's gaze turned Yugi's way as his interest was captured. A strange look glazed over his eyes as he let his arm drop back to his hip.

"Not from around here?" he mumbled, tilting his head slightly. His eyes flashed with a sudden lust. "Interesting..."

Marik's strange smile seemed to grow until it was far creepier than it was friendly. He took a step closer to Yugi and gave an odd little laugh.

"Do you like tea?" he asked, his other hand gripping the round end of his cane tightly. "I guess that's a stupid question, though. Alice _loves _tea."

Without bothering to wait for a response, the Hatter lifted an arm and snapped his fingers. A burst of purple fog exploded into the area and sent everyone to their knees in a fit of coughing as it slipped into their lungs. It made breathing difficult and the fog was so dense that they couldn't see anything more than an inch away. Beside him, Yami could hear Yugi coughing along with them, but there was a sudden scuffling sound and he heard Yugi yelp.

"What are you-!"

Yugi was cut off by something and Yami tried to find his partner in the mess of purple clouds obscuring his vision, but he had no luck.

"Yugi?!" he called through his coughing fits, feeling a sliver of fear slip down their link.

He received no answer and after a moment, the fog began to fade until the Pharaoh could see the others pushing themselves up and looking around for each other.

But Yugi was nowhere to be found and neither were the Hare and Hatter. All three had vanished.

-x-x-

Serena: Something tells me I'm going to _greatly_ enjoy writing Marik and Bakura~ tehe~ Oh yes. You might have noticed, but there's an opening for a little Thiefshipping to go alongside that unofficial Puzzleshipping that's been going on. I dunno. Just a thought~ Anyway, please leave me a review and thank you very much for reading! Till next time, lovlies~


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